It seems like forever but the Giants drafted Daniel Jones with the sixth pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. When Jones was selected, it ended an era behind Eli Manning who spoiled the Giants with two Super Bowl wins against the Patriots.
At times, for our NFL picks, Jones looked incredible in his first two seasons with the Giants. At other times, the offense lagged and things didn’t look so bright. The Athletic ranked the top quarterbacks in the league behind a ballot of 50 coaches and executives league-wide. In the piece, they made tiers with one being the best and five being the worst.
In the rankings, Jones placed 22nd and in the third tier of quarterbacks. Executives and coaches weighed in anonymously. “If he cannot put up points with this group, he never will be able to,” an exec said. “Jones’ fatal flaw has been the turnovers, but it’s because he holds the ball too long,” a defensive coach said.“That worries me all the time.”
Under Pressure
It has come out that Daniel Jones feels pressure to perform at a high level. This is a make or break season for Jones and the Giants and with the addition of Kenny Golladay, there really won’t be any excuses not to perform. He’ll have Saquan Barkley at running back, a bunch of quality receivers, an improved offensive line, and that should be more than enough to win football games.
“I think at this level and in this job, we’re all expected to perform and play at a high level every day, and that starts today,” Jones said Tuesday when asked if he feels pressure ahead of his third training camp, via team transcript. “I certainly feel that. I think everyone on the team does and I think that’s healthy, I think that’s the way it should be and I know we’re excited for the opportunity.”
In 27 games, Jones has 35 touchdowns but also 22 interceptions. However, he’s shown off some speed and agility with 702 rushing yards. But when he’s hit, he fumbles the ball. He’s led the league in fumbles in his first two seasons in the league and that’s why the questions continue to come. Can he hold onto the ball and make better decisions? Take it into consideration for your NFL odds.
Breakout
Sometimes he tries too hard to escape a sack or gets pressured and makes a big decision with the ball and throws an interception. This will be the first season for Jones to play with the same regime. He’ll have the same group of coaches as last season and believes that type of consistency will help him provide more consistency for the team on the field.
“I think it’s valuable,” Jones said. “I think it’s valuable for all of us. I think it’s the second year in the system under coach Garrett and coach Judge. A lot of us are back and, like I said, have developed chemistry and know how to communicate with one another, but kind of the same theme, to start over and take it day by day, to start with step one and make sure we’re going about it the right way. We’ve got several new guys and had some time to get to know them during the spring and in the summer and we’ll continue to go from there, but definitely helps to be back with coach Garrett, coach Judge and a lot of the same guys.”
Of course, the pressure is on for Jones but he knew what he was getting into when he was drafted to New York. New York is about winning and if you’re not doing that, you’re not going to make it with the fans. According to top sportsbooks, the pieces are in place for the Giants to succeed as a team and more importantly offensively. It’s time for Jones to breakout. We’ll see if he’s capable of it.
