When was the moment Daniel Jones’ New York Giants teammates knew he was the real deal and their franchise QB?
Daniel Jones had an up-and-down rookie season for the New York Giants, excelling in some big moments and looking a tad overwhelmed in others.
That’s usually the case for rookie quarterbacks in the NFL, but Jones actually had more high-water marks than low-water marks throughout the season — his turnover issues be damned.
But when did Jones’ teammates have that light bulb moment? When did they realize he’s the real deal and the franchise quarterback of the future?
Dan Duggan of The Athletic recently set out to determine exactly that and the answers he received were telling.
“Obviously that first Tampa game was a big indicator,” right guard Kevin Zeitler said. “The fact that we got down so much but we just kept playing and playing no matter what happened. We just kept going and he kept going. That’s a great indicator. That was early, but you see things every game here and there.”
The Tampa Bay comeback was a big indicator for many of Jones’ current and former teammates, including tight end Evan Engram, who played a big role in that victory.
“Honestly, it was one of the first plays of the Tampa game,” Engram said of when he realized Jones was the real deal. “”t was like the first drive and I had the sole protection on the D-end, Shaq Barrett, and he hit me with a crazy move and I totally whiffed on him. Then Saquon had to come and help and (Barrett) pretty much made Saquon miss, too. I was watching the whole thing because I turned around after I whiffed on the dude.
“So I turned around and I’m watching Daniel take the pressure, run, throw a dart to Sterling (Shepard) on a corner route, on the move, kind of throwing off his back foot. Right then and there I was like, ‘OK. If he can make me look good in protection, then this kid’s got it.’ That whole game he played his butt off and he’s had a lot of good games. The way he went to New England – that was like that game, that rookie game, that tough day where you’re like, ‘OK, it’s not too easy.’ There’s been many instances, but the first game.”
But it wasn’t just the Tampa Bay game that sold Jones to his teammates. That actually began the very moment he stepped into the building with the heavy weight of expectations and criticism resting on his shoulders.
“I knew he had something when he got drafted here and people were talking bad about him and the way he handled that,” linebacker Markus Golden said. “He came to practice every day competing. When you see that, it’s like, ‘OK, this dude’s got something.’ Because you know the talent is there. If you’ve been drafted with a top-10 pick, the talent is there. Now, you’ve got to put the pieces together. You’ve got to have great people around you that are going to follow you because you have to be a good leader.
“I feel like he has all the tools. I feel like he’s a great leader, great dude, gets along with everybody, can be himself with everybody. So I feel like he can be a great leader for this organization. I like him. I like Danny a lot, on and off the field.”
Running back Saquon Barkley said Jones has the talent to become one of the best quarterbacks in all of football, while former Giants wide receiver Bennie Fowler said it’s “not a matter of if, but when.”
The praise for Jones was high across the board. His teammates not only believe in him, but they trust him.
For more comments from Jones’ teammates (and there are plenty), be sure to check out Duggan’s full article in The Athletic.
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