New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen likes Daniel Jones. The question, however, is does he like him enough to be his team’s starting quarterback?
During his introductory press conference on Wednesday, Schoen addressed the elephant in the room for the media and fan base.
Schoen said the front office will “build an offense to accentuate what Daniel does best.”
It would appear the Giants are prepared to move forward with Jones as their quarterback.
Support from the fan base for Schoen’s early faith in Jones won’t be overwhelming, understandably so.
This season, Jones completed 64.3% of his passes for 2,427 yards, with 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He missed the final six games after the Giants shut him down due to a “sprained neck”.
This was going to be the breakthrough season for Jones. This was going to be his performance evaluation. His uneven play — along with the neck injury –, however, threw the team a curveball they were looking to avoid.
Schoen, the new head coach, and the front office have a crucial decision to make.
Jones, the No. 6 pick in the 2019 NFL draft, has one more guaranteed year remaining on his rookie contract. The Giants have until May 3 to decide if they want to pick up his fifth-year option worth around $21.3 million in 2023.
“I’ve looked at Daniel and you know once the new staff gets in here — offensive coordinator, head coach, entire staff — dive into the film as a group and look at what Daniel does best. We’re going to allow him to put his best foot forward,” Schoen said.
No one is doubting the potential in Jones, at least there’s a solid case not to.
Yes, he must continue to improve his ball security. He’s been injury prone. For the third straight season, he missed games with an injury. Moreover, he still must show he’s able to consistently lead the offense.
“We do feel Daniel can play. We’ve done everything possible to screw this kid up since he’s been here,” Giants co-owner and team president John Mara said following the press conference.
Give Mara credit for acknowledging as much.
It’s fair to also make the case for Jones not getting a legitimate opportunity to develop enough to where he’s ready to be the quarterback everyone’s waiting on.
Injuries to playmakers, like Saquon Barkley, and inconsistency on the offensive line have done Jones no favors.
When Schoen hires the next head coach for the Giants, it will be the third one Jones has played for. Furthermore, the offensive coordinator position has been a revolving door since 2019.
Schoen and his new staff have a long list of concerns to address in the offseason from the previous regime. Figuring out if Daniel Jones is the real deal or not is one of those concerns.
“I’ve looked at him and you know, I wasn’t here in the past,” Schoen continued. ” I don’t know what he was told what to do, but I do know this: he’s a great kid, he’s been in the building the last two days I’ve talked to him. There’s not a person who’s said a bad word about his work ethic, passion (or) desire to win. You got to have those traits as a quarterback. The kid has physical abilities. Arm strength, he’s athletic, he can run. So I’m really excited to work with Daniel. When the new staff gets in here, we’ll build an offense around Daniel to accentuate what he does best.”
