Daniel Jones may prove to be a franchise quarterback, but the New York Giants drafting him No. 6 overall shows they’re punting on 2019.
The New York Giants can rebuild and also compete in 2019. That’s how general manager Dave Gettleman sold decisions such as trading superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns in March.
Theoretically, splitting Beckham and two-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback Eli Manning made little sense, but those hoping the 38-year old signal-caller still has something in the tank were capable of producing scenarios where the organization built a potential playoff contender via draft picks No. 6 and No. 17 as of the morning of April 25.
Then, Gettleman and company went and selected Duke quarterback Daniel Jones with the sixth overall pick. Say whatever you will about the to-be rookie. He may, down the road, prove to be a steal of a first-round selection.
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The 21-year old rose up draft boards during the evaluation process, and former head coach and current ESPN analyst Rex Ryan rated Jones the second-best quarterback in this year’s class. He’ll now have time to learn and prepare behind the best player the Giants have ever featured at the position.
As beat reporter Art Stapelton pointed out, there were, regardless of what many who don’t work in the NFL would lead you to believe, zero guarantees Jones would have been there for Big Blue at No. 17. Maybe rumors the Washington Redskins would’ve drafted Jones instead of Ohio State product Dwayne Haskins, who fell into Washington’s lap, were accurate. Gettleman and his staff went all-in on who they believe will replace Manning. It’s their job to get it right. Anybody evaluating the Jones pick right now today is wrong because literally nobody knows what he is or isn’t as an NFL player this spring.
The problem isn’t that Gettleman probably reached for a quarterback, that he didn’t take a supposed sure-thing like Kentucky pass-rusher Josh Allen or that he clearly enjoys offering misinformation to the press and fans. Manning’s existence on a roster that doesn’t also include Beckham defies logic.
Trying to win while stashing Jones for the future is well and good with Manning and Beckham, combined with the likes of Saquon Barkley, Evan Engram, and Shepard, taking a last spin around the league. Trading Beckham without bolstering a porous and lackluster defense is punting on 2019, intentional or not.
MUST READ: Grading every first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft
Glaring holes on New York’s offensive and defensive line remain unfilled. As Twitter users and football gurus joked, a pair of first-round selections (the Giants grabbed Clemson defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence with the 17th pick) won’t see many third-down scenarios their debut seasons. Jones, Lawrence, cornerback Deandre Baker and anybody else the organization acquires this weekend may become cornerstones for a championship squad, just not for the upcoming campaign.
Obviously, the conversation changes if Jones is a stud out of the gates and grabs the keys of the offense from Manning’s grasp as quickly as this summer. Whether he’ll be given a real opportunity to do so over the next several months comes down to ownership and head coach Pat Shurmur. It won’t matter all that much if Jones struggles during the preseason, as he’s not scheduled to enter the lineup before at least 2020.
Drafting a trio of plug-and-play starters after trading back into the first round would’ve followed the blueprint Gettleman presented to fans following Beckham’s controversial ouster. Even franchise apologists such as WFAN personality Mike Francesa are left baffled by what occurred on Thursday.
What was a relatively kind schedule earlier this week became scarier mostly by the Giants not spending the sixth pick on a defensive star ready to start 16 consecutive games this fall.
Panicking Giants fans can’t throw Jones out with the proverbial bath water. His only pro football sin is being coveted by a club that possessed a high draft pick. Evaluate him when the time comes and not a second before. Give him a chance. It’s Gettleman who lost the benefit of the doubt and, maybe, the plot.