Daniel Jones’ time with the New York Giants is in serious jeopardy ahead of the 2022 NFL season. The Giants elected to decline Jones’ fifth-year option ahead of the draft and, as it stands, the former 6th overall pick in 2019 is set to be a free agent at the end of the season. It’s the last chance saloon for Jones in New York.
The Giants selection of Jones three years ago caught the NFL world by surprise. An eventual successor to a rapidly declining Eli Manning was a necessity, but Jones, a three-year starter with Duke, was seen as a reach. Three seasons later, Jones has struggled to live up to his lofty draft position and, as a result, has left the Giants with a dilemma ahead of the 2022 season.
His overall performance has been up-and-down. Jones has completed 62.8 percent of his passes for 8398 yards, 45 touchdowns and 29 interceptions en route to a 12-25 record with the Giants. His mobility and ability to make plays outside the pocket has always been a plus, but issues with ball protection in the pocket remains his biggest weakness – Jones has 36 fumbles in 38 games – and his accuracy has been inconsistent.
As a pure passer, Jones has his moments. He can sling the ball deep on occasion and fit the ball into tight windows, but overall, he’s conservative when it comes to pushing the ball downfield and into harm’s way. His Big-Time Throw % of 1.8 percent was the third-lowest in the NFL in 2022, per PFF and he’s been among the bottom end of deep passing attempts since his rookie season.
With Jones as their starter, the Giants have struggled to generate points over the last two seasons, averaging 16.5 points per game across the 2020 and 2021 NFL campaigns. In EPA terms, things haven’t been much better for the Giants. Their -0.089 EPA/Play was 31st in the NFL from 2019 to 2021 – only the New York Jets had a worse EPA.
It hasn’t all been Jones’ fault. The offensive line has been one of the worst in the NFL for several seasons now, and a rotating cast of wide receivers haven’t done a lot to create any sort of cohesion on offense. A dysfunctional coaching room over the last few years certainly hasn’t helped either. There simply aren’t enough fingers to point the blame.
It all led to the Giants declining Jones’ fifth-year option, essentially making the fourth, and now final, year of his rookie contract a one-year prove-it deal. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the Giants are done with Jones after the 2022 season, but it certainly casts major doubts.
In terms of his surroundings, the situation is a little better. The Giants drafted Evan Neal with the 7th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He should help strengthen the Giants ailing offensive line in his rookie season by filling a major hole at right tackle. Now, with Neal at right tackle and 2021 breakout star Andrew Thomas protecting Jones’ blindside, there’s a foundation to build upon.
There’s hope that Kenny Golladay, who had a miserable first season in New York, can recapture the form of his 2019 season and slot in as Jones’ number one option. Aside from Golladay, if Sterling Shepard can stay healthy, and if the Giants wind up not trading Kadarius Toney, they have a decent core of receivers.
But compared to the rest of the league, the Giants are still below-average in most departments. There’s some belief that new head coach Brian Daboll will be able to influence Jones’ play in a similar way to Josh Allen. Of course, expecting any sort of improvement that’s even close to Allen’s is setting yourself up for failure. Allen’s single-season jump is unprecedented.
Maybe, just maybe, Daboll is the solution for Jones though. A quarterback-whisperer assigned to help a flawed quarterback with potential is a sign of hope. But by declining Jones’ fifth-year option, the Giants are hedging their bets. Daboll will have the 2022 offseason and entire season to evaluate Jones and where he fits in his plans. If the prognosis isn’t good and the season is a disappointment, then the Giants could be in play for one of the top quarterbacks in the 2023 NFL Draft.
If the season is a success and Jones shows signs of real, tangible improvement, then the Giants can re-sign him to a deal they think he’s worthy of – or, he can cash in in free agency and find a team who is willing to bet on him like the Giants wouldn’t. However you spin it, Jones’ and New York’s relationship is truly at its most important stage.
-Thomas Valentine
Twitter: @ThomasValenfine
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.