The New York Giants have their second game of the season against the Washington Commanders on Sunday, and the opposing quarterback they will be facing is a guy who nearly became a Giant over the offseason.
The Giants will be facing rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels on Sunday
Jayden Daniels, the second overall pick in the draft and 2023 Heisman Trophy winner, was taken by the Commanders as they desperately needed an upgrade at quarterback over Sam Howell. The LSU standout was looked at by several teams leading up to the draft, including the Giants.
The Giants had Daniels come to New York for a pre-draft workout, which was documented on the HBO series Hard Knocks and included an interaction between Daniels, head coach Brian Daboll, and general manager Joe Schoen.
Daboll was enamored by the young quarterback’s skillset and expressed interest in trading up to draft him, but the Giants kept pick No. 6 and took fellow LSU star and wide receiver Malik Nabers, putting their full trust in Daniel Jones to turn things around after a shaky 2023 that ended with an ACL tear.
Brian Daboll loves Daniels’ skillset
Earlier this week, Daboll spoke highly about Daniels and what he brings to the table for a Commanders offense looking to take a big step forward:
“I think he’s a good football player. He’s athletic. He’s dynamic with the ball in his hands, whether it’s a passer or a runner,” Daboll said via Sports Illustrated’s Caleb Skinner. “But again, this is more about the Washington offense in general. They played a good Tampa Bay team. Tampa Bay played well. He’s a rookie quarterback that definitely did some good things that you saw from college on tape. He had 88 yards, 70 yards on scrambles, throws the ball well, but it’s more about getting ready to play their entire offense.”
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The Giants need to turn things around with a win on Sunday
Despite Daniels’ solid performance in his NFL debut, the Commanders couldn’t come out victorious as they were defeated by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 37-20. Now facing a Giants team that got exposed by Sam Darnold and the Minnesota Vikings in Week One, New York may get a glimpse of what they missed out on in the draft.
For the Giants’ sake, they desperately need a win in order to feel better about their chances of turning things around. If the Giants get defeated in a similarly embarrassing fashion at the hands of Daniels and the Commanders, it will only further highlight the significance of the team’s failure to trade up and draft a quarterback of the future.
