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The New York Giants are heading into the 2022 season with fourth-year quarterback Daniel Jones under center. It is reportedly his last chance to display that he was worth the sixth overall selection in the 2019 NFL draft.
Many believe the Giants are wasting their time with Jones and should have moved on. Others see Jones as a player who is about to pop and become a star.
In recent ranking of the “NFL’s Seven Worst Veteran Starting Quarterbacks Entering the 2022 Season” from Ian Wharton of Bleacher Report, Jones comes in at No. 5.
Since his collegiate days at Duke, Jones has never been an overlay accurate or safe passer with the ball. He should not have been drafted so highly in the 2019 class based on those tendencies. Former general manager Dave Gettleman banked on the occasional big play and solid deep-passing prowess of Jones and overlooked skittishness in the pocket and the penchant for turnovers.
There hasn’t been a lot to point toward in favor of Jones becoming an average passer beyond a few flashes. His rookie touchdown rate of 5.2 percent helped build optimism he could overcome the negative plays so long as he created more positive plays, like an early-career Carson Wentz or Jameis Winston. But his touchdown rate has plummeted to 2.5 and 2.8 percent over the last two years.
Wharton also points out that while Jones has reduced his turnovers, he still remains at the bottom of the league in yards per completion and completion percentage, even though he predominantly throws short passes.
New head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, two men who have been partly responsible for the success of Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes, along with a revamped offensive line should send Jones into an upward trajectory this year, but his track record could be too difficult to overcome.
“He has dealt with bad luck around him as much as any quarterback since he entered the NFL,” writes Wharton. “However, his baseline skill set is still low, so there needs to be a blend of self-improvement and better infrastructure for Jones to be an option for the Giants in 2023 and beyond.”
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