New York Giants: Daniel Jones may be the real deal
New York Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones looked very impressive in his NFL preseason debut against the Jets last Thursday night.
I know, I know; it’s too early — way too early. However, I really liked what I saw from New York Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones last Thursday in Big Blue’s 31-22 preseason triumph over the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.
No one is saying that the Duke Blue Devils product is ready to supplant veteran signal-caller Eli Manning as New York’s next franchise quarterback, not at all. But it would not be surprising if the 38-year old Manning is hearing, pardon the pun, giant footsteps behind him because the kid looked very good.
Let’s take a look at his performance against Gang Green:
The 6-5, 215-pounder connected on all five of his passes in his NFL preseason debut for 67 yards and a touchdown. Jones played in just one series but flashed some very positive signs, despite going against a very basic, vanilla Jets defense.
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What impressed me the most was how quickly and accurately Jones got rid of the football. Many Giants fans were up in arms (at least on local sports talk radio) when Jones was selected sixth overall in this year’s NFL Draft. They thought he could have been drafted later in the initial round.
Jones’ 12-yard touchdown pass to Bennie Fowler III was a thing of beauty, as he led him perfectly with a strong toss in the right side of the end zone. That was pretty impressive.
Head coach Pat Shurmur seemed to be happy overall with Jones’ performance via ESPN.com:
"“He got all completions and got us in the end zone,” Shurmur added. “That was a very effective job.”"
Yes, it was. It’s early though as Jones still has not faced any complicated, intricate defensive schemes yet. That will come. He is not a viable challenger for the starting gig, at least not yet. However, with that being said, the former Independence Bowl MVP (2018) showed poise, excellent accuracy and a strong arm. It was quite the debut.
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If the G-Men are struggling this upcoming season — say they reside at 4-7 after 11 games, for example — look for Jones to take over the reins for Manning. It will be his team to lead then. There is tremendous upside here. Jones’ ceiling is high. He could be the real deal.