A Look Behind Daniel Jones's Growing Confidence in Giants Offense
There's something a lot different about New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones this summer.
Jones, who earned a new four-year, $160 million contract with his play last year, is walking around with a sort of swagger rooted in growing confidence in his role as the Giants starting quarterback, but more so because this is Year 2 for him in an offensive system that probably best suits his strengths while minimizing his weaknesses.
Oh, and it also helps that the Giants, in their quest to improve the offense, brought in some new faces to help Jones's quest to enter Top-10 quarterback territory this year.
The new faces start up front with the addition of rookie center John Michael Schmitz, the team's second-round draft pick out of Minnesota. The Giants are hoping Schmitz puts an end to the revolving door at center that Jones has had every year of his pro career.
So far, so good with Schmitz, according to Jones.
“That’s a big responsibility of a center, to make a lot of those calls and get everybody on the same page and communicate,” Jones said. “As a young guy, learning the system and then having to communicate can be tough sometimes, but I think he's done a really good job with it.”
Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka agreed that Schmitz, who saw his first NFL action last week against the Lions, had a good outing.
"He got in there, he played hard, and there’s a bunch of things that we can get better at, and that’s where we’re working to improve on," Kafka said.
Among the skill position, players Jones will get to work with this year, the big fish being tight end Darren Waller, acquired via trade from the Las Vegas Raiders this off-season for the extra third-round draft pick the Giants had acquired in last year's Kadarius Toney trade with the Chiefs.
A sixth-round draft pick in 2015 by the Ravens, Waller spent his first two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens before heading to the Raiders in 2018. Waller broke out during his first season as the Raiders starter in 2019, logging 90 receptions for 1,145 yards and three touchdowns.
Waller only improved the following season, hauling in 107 receptions for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns. He earned Pro Bowl honors for his efforts.
But then he struggled to stay on the field due to injuries in 2021 and 2022, and the Raiders finally decided that both parties needed a clean split. The Giants, who haven't had a tight end with Waller's skillset in years, were immediately interested, and thus far this summer, Waller has rewarded their faith in him.
“(Waller’s) done a really good job,” Jones said. “He’s a big target, so that's always a little bit easier when you’ve got a guy like that who can create as much separation as he can and run like he can."
Waller has arguably been the most impressive Giant throughout training camp. His connection with Jones has caught the eyes of the NFL community, and Jones believes that the tight end’s skill set will mesh with the rest of the team.
“I think we’ve got a variety of guys who do different things, and I think (head coach Brian Daboll) and Kaf(ka) and our whole offensive staff do a really good job kind of building what we're doing to our guys’ skill set and what they're good at,” Jones said. “We did that last year and this year as well. I think that’s important.”
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