Listening to the hundreds of armchair general managers giving their takes on players can often time skew a narrative or form one completely. For the New York Giants, a story of its own took shape in regard to rookie quarterback Daniel Jones, and it wasn’t a good one.
Most fans were extremely disappointed with the No. 6 overall pick being spent on the Duke passer, a player most believed would be available later in the first round. However, if you have a conviction for a quarterback, you don’t hesitate to ensure he’s yours, and that’s what GM Dave Gettleman did in the 2019 NFL Draft.
While we’ve only seen Jones practice in a limited fashion during OTAs, he’s flashed the ability Gettleman found himself attracted to during the Senior Bowl. He’s Eli Manning reincarnated with a bit more athleticism. Jones makes the right reads, the right throws, and has solid touch. He has tangible and intangible skills to succeed at the next level, but most are worried that his supposed abilities won’t reach their potential.
Coming out of Duke, Jones didn’t have much talent around him, which limited his overall production. The jury is out on if he can elevate his game at the next level.
There’s hope for the New York Giants and Daniel Jones:
Former NFL offensive lineman and current analyst, Brian Baldinger, believes Jones was the right pick for Big Blue and the style of offense they’re trying to run.
“I think he’s going to play sometime this year,â€Â Baldinger said of Jones, via Newsday. “The more I studied, the more I liked him.â€
“Jones wasn’t playing with NFL players,†said Baldinger. “They’re all going to law school and business school and moving on with their lives, but they’re not going to the NFL. Show me a Division I program where you haven’t had a player drafted in four years. Not many.â€
Duke receivers accounted for 33 dropped passes in 2018, an insanely high number that influenced his completion percentage significantly. If you factor out his drops, he finishes the season with a 68.9% completion percentage and more impressive statistics.
Baldinger went on to compare Jones to Dwayne Haskins, the quarterback out of Ohio State that clearly anticipated being drafted by the Giants via his reaction when they took Jones.
“Every single receiver that Haskins threw to runs a 4.3, like [Johnnie] Dixon or [Parris] Campbell,†Baldinger said. “It’s a track team. They don’t have anybody like that at Duke. You could throw a 5-yard shallow cross to Parris Campbell, and he’s going to end up in the end zone.â€
Brian makes a great point here – the talent differential was immense between the two. It’s hard to grade Jones with the players he had around him, but he carried the Blue Devils to an 8-5 record and a Bowl game win against Temple anyway. Personally, I believe Jones can be great for the Giants, and I’d rather consider the opinion of a trusted NFL analyst than the hoard of fans spewing a single-minded narrative on Twitter.