Daniel Jones

New York Giants: Daniel Jones earns Andrew Luck comparison from new signing

by
New York Giants, Daniel Jones

It’s debatable which past player New York Giants QB Daniel Jones is comparable to at this point in his career. It’s still pretty early and there’s still room for Jones’ career to go up or down – either as the future leader of the Giants or as an afternote that will eventually be replaced. However, one of the players to sign with the Giants during this free agency period is confident that big things are coming for Jones.

Specifically, Kyle Rudolph has given Jones a comparison to Andrew Luck while speaking with the Pat McAfee Show. Obviously, that’s high praise. Luck and Jones were both high draft picks, but Luck would manage to go down as one of the best young quarterbacks ever before his early retirement. Jones still has some time to turn it around and reach those heights – but it will be an uphill battle.

What did Rudolph have to say?

“He’s a stud and then you watch him over the last two years and – you said it – he’s got all the intangibles to be an Andrew Luck-type quarterback. Hopefully we put a bunch of pieces around him and we can take some of the pressure off of him, let him just go out there and play with confidence and let all those attributes and abilities take over,” Rudolph said about Jones.

It’s a bold prediction for Jones to reach Luck’s level of play, but at the very least, the Giants are adding weapons this offseason for Jones and may improve the offensive line in the draft. One obvious parallel between Jones and Luck is the bad blocking through their careers, even if that wasn’t what Rudolph was getting at.

And if the Giants want to win down the line, they’ll likely have to address that similarity at one point or another. We’ve already seen from Jones’ injury problems last year, after all, what happens when a team can’t protect their playmaker.

Some will immediately roll their eyes at Rudolph’s comparison, but it just goes to show how the Giants and some others around the league still think highly of Jones – and how big the expectations are on him going into year number three.

Daniel Jones: Kenny Golladay interested in New York Giants culture

by
New York Giants rookie quarterback, Daniel Jones.

The reactions are still coming in after the New York Giants added wide receiver Kenny Golladay to their arsenal of weapons. Those reactions include that of Golladay himself as well as current members of the Giants organization.

One of the most important people in all of this is Daniel Jones. He’s the one that was without weapons in 2020 and the addition of Golladay improves his chances during his make or break 2021 season. And in a statement, he was positive about the addition and getting to work with the new wide receiver on the field.

“He’s been a big time playmaker in this league. When we spoke, he was interested in the culture we have in the building and the mindset of the team. I think he had heard it from coaches but wanted to hear how we saw it as players and how much we believed in it,” Jones said. “I think finding the right fit in that sense was important to him. I can’t wait to get out on the field and get to work with him.”

Culture has become a buzzword in many places that is used by every team regardless of their actual success. Every coach, both good and bad, brings up their team culture. However, the Giants have seen a culture change more tangibly since the addition of Joe Judge saw their coaching staff overhauled and the team immediately becoming more competitive in Judge’s first season.

One could say that’s already played a role in the Giants landing free agents this year. Golladay this year is their signature free agent, but it also appears the Giants are frontrunners to bring in cornerback Adoree Jackson, and they already added to the depth of their pass rush with defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo.

In other words, the Giants are one of the more improved teams so far out of this offseason’s contenders for that title. And from the looks of it, we can attribute a lot of that to how things went last year with the change in the coaching staff.

The Giants might not have picked up as many wins as desired, but the change in culture was noticeable, and it’s starting to pay off as the roster itself finally improves.

“Just hearing the vision that coach Joe Judge had and Jason Garrett had as far as the offense, that had me right there,” Golladay said on Saturday about his visit with the team.

It seems like that culture and the current coaching staff of the Giants had more than a little influence on him choosing to come to New York over other teams.

New York Giants sign Mike Glennon as new backup QB

by

The New York Giants have made another depth signing in free agency. According to reports, the Giants have agreed to terms with quarterback Mike Glennon. This signing fills a need for the Giants as they upgrade their backup quarterback position.

Mike Glennon is a seven-year NFL veteran that has been a journeyman backup for the majority of his career. The Giants will be Glennon’s sixth team he becomes a member of.

In 2020, Mike Glennon played as a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Glennon started five games as the Jaguars’ backup quarterback. Glennon was a decent fill-in at the quarterback position, throwing for 1,072 passing yards, 7 touchdown passes, and 5 interceptions in those 5 games.

The 6-foot-7, 31-year-old quarterback has a strong arm and the ability to throw the ball downfield. Glennon will replace Colt McCoy as the backup to Daniel Jones. McCoy started two games for the Giants in 2020 but now sits on the open market as a free agent. It seems unlikely that the Giants will re-sign Colt McCoy after signing Mike Glennon.

The signing of Mike Glennon gives the Giants an added sense of security entering the 2021 season. Daniel Jones has missed two games with injuries in each of his first two career seasons. This makes the backup quarterback position ever more important for the Giants. New York can feel more comfortable now knowing they can get competent quarterback play out of their new backup, Mike Glennon, in case of an emergency in the 2021 season.

New York Giants: Daniel Jones called “everything we want” by Dave Gettleman

by
New York Giants, Daniel Jones

In case you didn’t believe the New York Giants were committed to Daniel Jones going forward, GM Dave Gettleman would confirm that once again while speaking on Tuesday. The Giants have expressed that Jones is their future multiple times, but since this is the offseason when roster moves are being made, it needed to be said one more time. And if you believe Gettleman here, there’s really no chance we end up with a different QB anytime soon.

Gettleman claims there’s no need to look at QBs

“We’ve done the evaluation on him and we really believe he’s the guy. No reason to go look,” Gettleman said, denying that the Giants might look at free agent quarterbacks. “What we’re doing isn’t fantasy football, we’re not playing, we’re not doing that. We’ve got a conviction on him, he’s everything we want, he’s got all the physical skills and again I say this all the time, the kid just finished his second year of NFL football.”

Gettleman stressed that it takes time and that most aren’t the best at their job after two years. He reaffirmed once again that the team believes in Daniel Jones.

But it remains to be seen how far out this order of things will last if Jones doesn’t make the big step forward that many are hoping for in 2021. He’ll have some advantages compared to 2020 if the Giants can do what everyone is hoping, and add better weapons to the offense this year. But as we saw with the team’s losing streak in the first half of last season, patience will wear thin quickly if that doesn’t bring quick results.

Still, it really looks like the Giants are unlikely to change course anytime soon, and they’ve practically said it themselves on a number of occasions, both head coach Joe Judge and GM Dave Gettleman. We’re going to have Daniel Jones as the QB for the future, whether or not the fans believe the Giants can win down the line with him.

New York Giants named a top landing spot for Jaylen Waddle by Pro Football Focus

by
New York Giants, Jaylen Waddle

The New York Giants are in the market for new playmakers. After the Giants’ offense averaged only 17.5 points per game in 2020, general manager Dave Gettleman and co-owner John Mara promised to add playmakers to New York’s offense this offseason. This has led man to assume that the Giants will be drafting a wide receiver with the eleventh overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

This year’s draft class is loaded with wide receiver talent. At the top are three blue-chip prospects that could all potentially be drafted in the top ten. Devonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle, and Ja’Marr Chase are all elite wide receiver prospects. If one of these players falls to the Giants at eleven, New York should not even hesitate to draft them.

But which wide receiver prospect should be the Giants’ number one target? According to Pro Football Focus, Jaylen Waddle and the Giants are a perfect prospect-team pairing. PFF’s Anthony Treash named the Giants Jaylen Waddle’s best landing spot.

Why Jaylen Waddle and the Giants are a perfect match

The Giants are in need of a dynamic receiving threat to help Daniel Jones have his year-three breakout season. Jaylen Waddle could be that receiver for Big Blue. One of Waddle’s main selling points to the Giants is his elite, game-changing speed. The Giants do not have a guy on their roster that possesses the speed that Waddle does.

PFF Anthony compared Waddle’s speed to that of Henry Ruggs III, a prospect who teams fell in love with after he recorded a 4.27s 40-yard-dash time at last year’s NFL Scouting Combine.

The things that make Waddle such a good prospect match the things that Daniel Jones does well as a quarterback. Waddle’s speed makes him a premiere vertical threat. The Giants’ offense lacked vertical threats in 2020, but they did have a quarterback that threw the ball deep with great efficiency. Daniel Jones earned the third-best passing grade on passes thrown over 20 yards downfield, per PFF.

Jaylen Waddle did not play a full season in 2020 as he suffered a season-ending injury after only 4 games. But in those games he played, Jaylen was incredible and was on pace to have a phenomenal season. Waddle was that deep threat that Jones needs, totaling 329 deep receiving yards over those four contests. He finished the season with 591 yards and 4 touchdowns and established himself as arguably the top receiver in this year’s draft class.

Is we inch closer to the NFL Draft in April, the boards will continue to shift and prospects will see their stocks rise and fall. Waddle is a player unlikely to make it out of the top ten, but if he is on the board for the Giants with the eleventh overall pick, he would be a home-run selection.

New York Giants: Is 2021 a make or break year for Daniel Jones?

by
New York Giants, Daniel Jones

The success of the New York Giants in 2021 is predicated almost entirely on Daniel Jones and his progression. Since he was drafted sixth overall in 2019, he has shown flashes of elite potential. He has also simultaneously struggled in different areas of the game. In order for the team to be productive offensively next season, Jones needs to step up big time and prove that he is franchise quarterback material. If not, they may be forced to explore other options at the quarterback position.

Saying that the offense struggled in 2020 is a drastic understatement. They averaged just over 17 points per game and were ranked 31st in total offense. Granted, their best playmaker Saquon Barkley went down for the season with an ACL injury in week two against the Bears.

Nonetheless, their passing attack was completely stalled. Their lack of a true number one wide receiver, questionable play-calling by OC Jason Garrett and Evan Engram with a league-leading 14 drops in the regular season all contributed to yet another sub .500 record for the Giants. That made it the seventh negative season since they won it all in 2012.

The New York Giants are still ironing out Jones biggest issue:

Critics of Jones will typically point out his biggest issue, which has been turning the ball over. Since he was drafted, he’s thrown 22 interceptions and fumbled the ball 29 times, only six of which were recovered by the Giants.

This, to me, is not an issue that will doom Jones. Turnovers are something that can be fixed. Good coaching, solid offensive line protection, and receivers that are able to create separation all help the quarterback turn the ball over less. When the Giants won four games in a row this year from weeks 9 through 13, Jones did not commit a single turnover. When Jones has control of the football and avoids turnovers, the correlation to offensive success is obvious.

I still believe in Daniel Jones. He wasn’t an elite prospect coming out of Duke and is far from being a top ten quarterback in the NFL. However, he has all the tools to become successful and lead the Giants in the right direction. Elite mobility along with underrated arm talent and accuracy, Jones has still managed to complete at least 60% of his throws in his two full seasons starting. With Joe Judge looking like a solid hire thus far and hopefully some moves in this offseason to bolster the offensive weapons, we could be preparing to see Jones take a big leap in 2021.

New York Giants: One peculiar NFC East fact about Daniel Jones

by
New York Giants, Daniel Jones

Not everyone is happy with Daniel Jones as the starter for the New York Giants, but the situation could be far worse.

One interesting fact about the NFC East puts that on full display, and shows how the Giants actually have one of the more stable quarterback situations right now in the division. This division, of course, has been one of the worst in terms of quarterback play over the past year – but as other teams shuffle around their starters, the Giants might come out looking the best in that department.

If the season began today, the Giants would almost certainly be in the best position QB wise. Daniel Jones, after all, would likely be the most experienced starting quarterback.

Sure, Alex Smith has more experience overall, but is hardly the expected starter for Washington despite his great comeback story. It looks like Washington is out to find another starter – either the young Taylor Heinicke or a player from the draft.

Philadelphia, on the other hand, is trading away Carson Wentz for a pair of draft picks and finally cutting ties with their starter from last season despite his past success with the franchise. It looks like Jalen Hurts is the frontrunner for the job in Philly, but Hurts of course has limited experience as a potential starter.

And right now, Dak Prescott’s status as the starting QB in Dallas is in question. He’ll be the starter if he comes back, but with his contract in question, things are in a state of limbo. If the season started right now, we wouldn’t see Dak playing for the Cowboys just because of that contract.

Daniel Jones might not be the greatest quarterback, sure. But there’s some value in stability. And this season, the New York Giants don’t have to ask these questions about stability at QB that every other team in the division does right now.

New York Giants: Can Daniel Jones take a Josh Allen-like jump in 2021?

by
New York Giants, Daniel Jones

The New York Giants are in a state of limbo as long as Daniel Jones is not considered a franchise quarterback. Without confidence that Jones can be their long-term solution at the most important position on any given football team, the Giants will be in a state of rebuild.

While Jones’ statistics might indicate regression in 2020, he actually became a more aware quarterback in the pocket and began to take developmental steps forward in his maturity. After recording 24 total touchdowns in 2019, that number dropped to 11, indicating a massive drop-off that will likely scare some people away. However, he threw two fewer interceptions and fumbled seven fewer times. His turnover problems are still present, but they are nowhere near as impactful as his rookie season.

The primary question is, can Jones replicate the progression that Josh Allen took with the Buffalo Bills this past season. Allen went from throwing 20 touchdowns in 2019 to 37 this past year. The catalyst behind his success was Stefon Diggs, who the Bills traded for to help their young quarterback in the passing game. The Giants’ management simply hasn’t done the same for Jones, trading Odell Beckham Jr. one year before drafting him and signing Golden Tate as a supplement.

Of course, running back Saquon Barkley was supposed to be the catalyst that opened up the office, but consistent injuries have hurt their efficiency and production. This off-season is detrimental to helping John succeed in the NFL, as management has guaranteed they will allocate resources toward bolstering the offense.

The New York Giants need to act now, not later:

Giving Jones a premium receiver and drafting a weapon with the 11th overall pick should help his development exponentially, and as he goes into his third year in the NFL, his time is quickly running out before the Giants have to make some an important decision on his future.

In addition to adding a playmaker or two, the second year in Jason Garrett’s scheme should provide a bit more continuity and consistency. Establishing the foundation of his system will give Jones familiarity with the timing of the routes and the terminology used in-game. While most would’ve preferred the Giants move on from Garrett and find a more vertical play-caller, it is hard to judge how effective he can be without a good OL and a few decent weapons. The Giants’ pass-blocking unit ranked dead last in the NFL in efficiency (PFF), which forced the Giants to rely on short-yardage passes in the running game.

As we can see, the Giants have not just one or two positions to improve, their entire unit needs to take a step forward. Playing at just an average level would make them a playoff-caliber team with their defense, but it starts with Daniel Jones and giving him the tools to become the future of the franchise, otherwise, Dave Gettleman will be on the hook, and the Giants will once again be taking 10 steps backward.

New York Giants: NFL.com QB index gives middling grade to Daniel Jones

by
New York Giants, Daniel Jones

The New York Giants have far from the worst quarterback in the league with Daniel Jones, but they could use a step up in performance this season. That take is shared by both the Giants fanbase and the national media, both of whom are eagerly waiting to see if Jones will make that step soon. For now, though, Jones is firmly in the camp of the players that aren’t the worst but aren’t near the best either.

He was ranked as the 24th best QB in the league out of every quarterback to start a game last season, in the NFL.com index for the year.

One of the most infuriating players in the entire league, Daniel Jones has proven in his short career that he can make every throw and almost any run. And yet, he turns the ball over (1.4 per game) like he’s going toe to toe with Jameis Winston. Can Jones make a Baker Mayfield-like leap in Year 3?

To the credit of Jones, some of his underperformance is because of the situation around him. The Giants brought in a new offensive coordinator last season and had to change up their plans immediately as Saquon Barkley went down early. Jones also suffered from having passes dropped, including one to Evan Engram that would have given the Giants an extra win and potentially a playoff spot.

Comparisons have been made between Jones and Bills quarterback Josh Allen. Allen has gotten better every year in the league and his team appeared in the AFC Championship this year. It looks like the Giants need a similar improvement to win with Jones, but it remains to be seen if they’ll get it and whether or not the rest of the offense will pick up around Jones too this year.

New York Giants: Daniel Jones named team’s most improved player by Pro Football Focus

by
New York Giants, Daniel Jones

The New York Giants‘ offense was pitiful in 2020, averaging only 17.5 points per game. Despite this, the team saw growth from its second-year quarterback, Daniel Jones. The sixth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft was a highly scrutinized selection. But the young gunslinger out of Duke has exceeded all expectations so far and is heading into a crucial third season.

Daniel Jones’s 2019 rookie season got off to a hot start, but his turnover tendency weighed things down. His 2020 sophomore season garnered similar results early on, but down the stretch, Jones took huge steps forward in his ball security and overall passing efficiency. This improvement gave Giants fans hope as the team made a late playoff push.

Still, critics are abundant. There are many fans that are not pleased with Daniel Jones’s progress and want to see a quarterback change. While the majority of the fanbase is in agreement about giving Jones one more year, there are some who feel as though Daniel Jones is a bust after two seasons.

While it has not necessarily translated to an abundance of wins, Daniel Jones has grown as an NFL quarterback. Pro Football Focus recently listed the “most improved player” for every NFL team. For the New York Giants, PFF selected Daniel Jones.

Daniel Jones improvements

Daniel Jones saw a massive improvement in his 2020 Pro Football Focus grade. In 2019, Jones earned a 65.9 overall grade. In 2020, Daniel improved his grade all the way up to 78.4, giving him a grade similar to that of Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, and Drew Brees.

Statistically, Daniel Jones did not improve this past season. His touchdown total decreased significantly from his rookie season. In 2019, Jones threw an impressive 24 touchdown passes as a rookie. This year he threw only 11 touchdown passes in 14 games. Daniel Jones needs to improve this total in 2021, but these stats do not tell the full story.

Pro Football Focus’s grading system isolates quarterback play away from the quarterback’s supporting cast. So PFF’s high grade on Daniel Jones’s 2020 season indicates that he was not the problem with New York’s offense. Rather, the Giants’ lack of playmakers surrounding Daniel Jones was the issue.

PFF notes that the biggest reason for Jones’s improved grade was that he “did a better job of keeping the ball out of harm’s way, reducing his number of turnover-worthy plays from 31 in 2019 to 17 this past season on a similar number of dropbacks.” Daniel Jones is no longer the turnover machine that he was in his rookie season.

Daniel Jones took huge strides in 2020. He kept the ball clean and made plays through the air and on the ground. While the Giants definitely need to see more from him to feel confident in his long-term future, they also need him to surround him with a better supporting cast. If the Giants can add some more playmakers to their offense and keep Jones protected, he could have a breakout 2021 season.