Giants' QB Daniel Jones Finally Showing Growth in Fourth Season

Daniel Jones is far from perfect as a quarterback, but he has cleaned up a lot of issues that, for three seasons, created questions about his game.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Dec 21, 2022 8:00 AM EST

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New York Giants

Almost a year ago, New York Giants co-owner John Mara made a startling but honest admission regarding quarterback Daniel Jones.

"We've done everything possible to screw this kid up since he's been here," he said, referencing the constant changeover in coaching and systems and the lack of a solid supporting cast around him.

Indeed, Jones, the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft, looked more like a sixth-round pick for most of his first three seasons as he struggled with reading defenses, making plays, elevating the talent around him, and ball security.

Despite those issues, Mara emphatically stated that the team "has not given up on Daniel Jones." And to prove it, the Giants, as led by new general manager Joe Schoen, brought in Brian Daboll and Mike Kafka from two of the most prolific offenses in the league at the time to fix what ailed the former Duke signal caller.

Nearly one year later, the results are starting to show. Jones has the fewest interceptions (four) among starting quarterbacks who played at least 50 percent of their teams' dropbacks.

He also has a career-best 66 percent completion percentage and has thrown for touchdowns on three percent of his pass attempts, his best mark since his rookie campaign.

And besides the fact that he finally has a winning record (8-5-1) as a starter, as he and his teammates are on the verge of earning a postseason berth for the first time since 2016, Jones has drastically cut down on the bad decisions that hampered him in his first three seasons, having thrown just 50 such passes through 14 games played.

"I think I’ve improved in some of those decision-making situations," Jones said when asked what he attributed his growth to. "Protecting the ball is a big part of the game at this position. I’ll try to keep doing that as well as I can."

While no one is ready to put Jones into the same class as Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, what's remarkable for the Giants' signal-caller is that he's been able to accomplish this growth despite having a receiver corps that thus far has dropped 23 balls (tying his career high in 2020), and an injury-plagued offensive line that has allowed him to be sacked 41 times, four shy of his career high in 2020.

"Give Daniel credit," said head coach Brian Daboll when asked about Jones's growth under his watch. "He’s an extremely hard worker. I think he understands what we’re trying to accomplish each week.

"Every week, it’s a little bit different. But he works extremely hard. He studies. He understands the teams that we’re playing, and he makes good decisions about what we ask him to do. Last week was a little bit different than the week before. He’s taking care of the football. He’s done a good job."

Jones, who is playing for a new contract after the Giants opted to decline the option year in his rookie deal, praised Daboll and his staff for fostering his professional growth.

"I’ve enjoyed working with them," Jones said. "I think Dabs (head coach Brian Daboll), Kaf (offensive coordinator Mike Kafka), (quarterbacks coach) Shea (Tierney) – all those guys have helped me out a lot.

"I think just understanding the game, understanding football, learning this system. I think this is a good system. As we said from the beginning, you can tell this is a quarterback-friendly system where the quarterback is in a good position to make good decisions most of the time. I’ve learned a ton from them."

The approach taken by Jones is akin to starting from scratch. The coaches tweaked a little bit of his mechanics to help him with his delivery of the ball. While they haven't taken full advantage of Jones's ability to sling the rock down the field--he has only attempted 20 passes of 20+ yards, tied for 33rd (out of 38 quarterbacks) for fewest such attempts--Jones has delivered almost 80 percent of his passes on target, a new career-high.

And beyond the interceptions has been the reduction in fumbles. The Giants, who have taken advantage of Jones's ability to make plays with his legs--his 583 rushing yards on 105 carries are both career highs, his rushing yardage fifth among his quarterback peers--have only seen him cough up the ball five times this season.

"Give credit to him," Daboll said. "He’s got to take care of the ball in the pocket, and he’s got to be the one to make good decisions when under pressure. I think (quarterbacks coach) Shea (Tierney) has done a great job with him in the quarterback room."

Perhaps the most encouraging thing for the Giants, who almost certainly will try to re-sign Jones to a contract extension after this season, is that he has yet to hit his ceiling.

"I don’t think he’s that far along in his career as a quarterback," Daboll said when asked about Jones's upside. "It’s a tough position to play.

"His ability to grasp information and then go out there and perform it with what we’re asking him to do, I think he’s made steps each way. Certainly, things to improve on but (he is) conscientious, hardworking, tough, competitor. Those are good qualities to have at that position."

If Jones is back under center for the Giants in 2023, the expectation is the coaches will ask him to do more at the next level.

"We try to do things that accentuate his strengths," Daboll said. "I think he can throw it on all three levels, but there’s a way to play each game against each opponent based on what they have defensively, how their rush is, what their corners look like. He’s done a good job of operating and executing our offense.

"It’s never going to be perfect. It’s a hard position to play. I think he’s got some confidence. We have confidence in him. ... I think he’s been the model of consistency with his attitude and approach, and that’s what I appreciate about him."