QB Daniel Jones: The Good, the Great and the Ugly

Coach Gene Clemons takes a deep dive into the pluses and minus in quarterback Daniel Jones's game.

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is one of the most polarizing figures in the New York sports scene. Many believe he has the potential to be a franchise quarterback in the NFL; others believe that the Giants would be better suited to move on from Jones because he is one of the final big pieces of a flawed regime that has run the franchise into the ground. 

It is certainly fair for dissenting opinions in the city and nationally about Jones's ability to be a quality starter in the league. His rookie season produced a lot of hope as the Giants transitioned from Eli Manning, but some issues needed to be improved to reach his full potential. 

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More Good, Great, and Ugly Analyses:

RB Saquon Barkley | ILB Carter Coughlin | ILB Tae Crowder WR Kenny Golladay | CB Adoree' Jackson

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Over the next couple of seasons, those issues did not improve and became more pronounced. The blame was put on coaching changes, but there was no progress during his second season in the same offense last year. 

It is clear to see Jones has the physical tools, but it may be what many can’t see that holds him back. So let's look at the good, the great, and the ugly of Jones's game.

Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Good: Athleticism

Jones is a good athlete. He has good speed and the toughness to use that ability when necessary. That ability makes him a danger as a runner and should be an element that defenses need to account for in their game-planning.

His athletic ability gives the Giants the potential to play 11-on-11 football instead of the 10-man football teams with quarterbacks that have limited athleticism are forced to play. If you look around the league, no team is winning consistently without a guy who brings some athleticism to the table except Tampa Bay with Tom Brady.

Jones has home run hitting speed, which makes him very dangerous in the zone read and when he decides to pull the ball down and run. It does not equate as well to designed quarterback runs because while he is tough, he has been injured.

This series of plays illustrates his impact as a runner. The first clip is him on a run to the outside with blockers.

He uses his speed to get around the corner and then gets out of bounds after collecting yards without contact.

The second play is a quarterback draw from an empty set where he does a good job of getting in the endzone.

The third clip is him picking up the first down on the zone read. He beats the defender around the edge and gets down to avoid hits.

 

Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Great: Accuracy

Jones has a good arm and is very accurate with his throws when he is confident in his decision. He has the ability to drive the ball deep and place it where only his receiver can catch it. He also can fit it into tight spaces on short to intermediate windows.

He throws the ball to areas that allow his receivers to extend away from a defender, and he even does an excellent job of placing the ball in areas that keep his receivers from taking major hits. He can place the ball in the body of a receiver in close quarters, and he can throw with touch or with velocity and put the ball where it needs to be.

When his confidence is up, he is as accurate as any quarterback in the league. This next series of plays illustrate that confidence.

The first play is a deep shot outside that comes off an impending offsides penalty.

Jones knows exactly where he is going because it is a free play. He delivers a beautiful ball.

The second play is on a one-read RPO where he pulls it from the back and delivers a low pass to the receiver so that he can avoid a hit from the safety.

The third is another deep shot left where he hits his back foot on the drop and places a perfectly thrown ball in the receiver's hands for a touchdown.

Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Ugly: Decision Making and Awareness

Jones's “great” illustrates his accuracy when there’s confidence in his decisions. Unfortunately for Jones, it does not take many bad decisions to turn a good game into a horrible one.

This has been Jones's Achilles heel of Jones for the better part of his NFL career. While many will point to the fact that he is going on his third head coach in four seasons, even if we look at the two years of consistent coaching, he regressed from his first season in an offense run by Jason Garrett that made stars out of Tony Romo and Dak Prescott.

At the base of his struggles are decision-making and awareness. Jones does not always feel the pressure like elite quarterbacks do, and when he does, his throws are sometimes panicked and rushed, leading to turnovers.

He does not always anticipate throws well, which would help him release the ball faster and even give his receivers the opportunity for more yards after the reception. Whether it is a crucial sack, fumble, or interception, Jones has consistently been his own worst enemy when the moment needed him most.

The first play shows a right-handed Jones sprinting out to his left.

He was under pressure, and instead of throwing the ball away, he threw it into a crowd of defenders on the goal line.

In the second clip, he forces a pass that is picked off despite having a running lane where he would have picked up significant yards.

The third play sees Jones under pressure. He appears to panic and just throws the ball up to a defender.

Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports

Final Thoughts

The model for success in the NFL is not to pay mediocre quarterbacks big money but rather to pay elite-level quarterbacks-- and that is only after taking advantage of the money they earned in their rookie contracts.

Over the past ten years, Seattle, Philly, Kansas City, Buffalo, Dallas, Baltimore, and Cincinnati were able to make leaps forward based on their quarterbacks' playing under rookie deals.

The Giants, however, have wasted those seasons with Jones. Since they declined to pick up his fifth-year option (a move that would tie them to Jones through 2023), it stands to reason that he would need to have a stellar season this year to warrant a franchise tag and/or contract extension.

However, it is fair to believe that this year will be nothing more than an audition for Jones to play elsewhere in 2023.

With a robust quarterback draft class projected to hit the draft next year, the Giants can use the money they would have otherwise paid Jones on his second contract to build the other areas of the team for four to five seasons before having to invest in a big quarterback contract. 

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