In his fourth year with the New York Giants, quarterback Daniel Jones helped the team make the playoffs. Did he do enough to stay with the team for the foreseeable future?
Just last year, New York Giants fandom wore paper bags over their heads at MetLife Stadium, embarrassed to show their face that they’d already paid money for tickets to watch the team and drink a free mediocre Pepsi on Fan Appreciation Day. Not to mention, those fans watched the team insert the surrender formation deep into their territory to give their closers more room in the final home game, a far cry from what Coach Joe Judge preached in his preseason press conference in 2020. It’s been a sad five-year spell for the Giants. .
A lot can change in a year. With Brian Dabul coming in from the Buffalo Bills to be their new head coach, the team has exceeded expectations and is now in the playoffs for the first time since 2016. They did just that by defeating the Indianapolis Colts 38-10, and the Central. Daniel Jones played an important role in this.
In the win, Jones completed 19 of 24 pass attempts for 177 yards and two touchdowns, while also running for 91 yards and two touchdowns. Perhaps most importantly, Jones received a standing ovation from the crowd after he pulled out of the game after leading the team to the playoffs.
Did Jones do enough to justify an extended stay with the Giants?
Did Daniel Jones do enough to stay with the Giants?
When it came to Jones’ reception after his introduction to the New York/New Jersey area, it was cold at best. Fans watched as the team passed Kentucky rusher Josh Allen to take Jones sixth overall in the 2019 NFL Draft. It certainly didn’t help that then-General Manager Dave Gettleman said he was sold on Jones during his three-play streak. in Senior Ball. Jones showed real promise in his rookie season, but he never repeated it. So far.
Jones did not have much luck in his first three years in the league, having two different coaching staffs in that span. Pat Shurmur was fired after Jones’ rookie season, and Judge’s staff had Jason Jarrett as offensive coordinator, who was then replaced by Freddie Kitchens as offensive caller.
In his first season under Daboll, Jones plays with more confidence and doesn’t change the football that plagued him early in his career. In fact, through 16 games this season, Jones has recorded just eight turnovers, compared to 23 in his rookie year.
What Jones did with a somewhat weak wide receiver room is remarkable. Through 16 games, Jones has thrown for 3,205 yards, 15 touchdowns, and only five interceptions while completing 67.2 percent of his passes. Jones also ran for 708 yards and seven touchdowns on 120 carries.
As for the question of whether Jones did enough to survive, the answer is yes. It’s not just the fans, but the Giants organization feels that way as well. Before the Week 17 game against the Colts, NFL Network national insider Ian Rapoport reported that the Giants are expected to offer multi-year contracts to both Jones and running back Saquon Barkley, who is also seeing a career comeback.
When looking at the quarterback scene in the offseason, the Giants would be out of sorts to pick a top prospect like Bryce Young and CJ Stroud. In terms of the free agency market, the options aren’t exactly the best. Realistically, Jones might be one of the better free agents, as his fifth-year option was rejected. So why not keep it?
The Giants couldn’t do much in their first season managed by new General Manager Joe Schoen, considering the hell Gettleman left them in. They can keep Jones and provide some quality assists on reception to see what he can really do on offense run by Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka.
To answer the question, yes, Jones has shown himself to be the Giants’ quarterback of the future.
