3. Daniel Jones, Giants
I was higher on Jones (more than most) before the 2019 NFL draft, so I was not surprised when he looked competent during his rookie season, completing 61.9% of his passes and throwing 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
As was the case during his time at Duke, Jones looked the part of a seasoned vet when operating in the quick passing game. He clearly has a strong grasp on how to time his drops and when to go from one read to the next.
Jones’ bravery in the pocket is one of the things I like most about him, and it carried over to the pros … to a fault. I don’t know how to put this any other way: The dude is just oblivious to what’s going on around him. This is an extreme example, but with a defender bearing down on him, Jones just doesn’t react and takes a big hit.
Jones’ bravery is obviously an asset at times, like when he’s throwing dimes downfield while under duress…
But it’s also the main reason he fumbled approximately FIVE THOUSAND times. Compounding the problem, Jones would make reckless decisions the longer he held onto the ball.
Put those two issues together, and it’s not a surprise he finished with the third-highest turnover-worthy play rate in the NFL, and that rate jumped up to 7.4% on plays that lasted longer than 2.5 seconds, according to Pro Football Focus.
It’s when Jones was able to get rid of the ball quickly that he really shined. He finished with an EPA/play of 0.11 when on throws that came before the 2.5-second threshold. That number dropped to -0.28 after 2.5 seconds.
For whatever reason, the Giants coaching staff didn’t do more to make things easier on their rookie quarterback. His play-action rate (18%) was one of the lowest in the league and despite him playing his best out of empty formations, where he finished around league average in both EPA and success rate, it was an under-utilized strategy.
Long-term outlook: All in all, Jones’ rookie season had to be considered a success. If the new Giants coaching staff can play to his strengths a bit more, Jones may cut down on the disaster players, and that’s really the only thing holding him back from being a league-average starter.
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