New York Giants Quarterbacks Preview: At a Crossroads

The New York Giants enter the 2022 season at a crossroads regarding the future of their quarterback position.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Jul 17, 2022 10:00 AM EDT

In this story:

After three seasons, the New York Giants still don't know what they have in quarterback Daniel Jones, the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft.

That's not good news, either. When it comes to its draft class members, ideally, a team will have an idea of what it has in each after three seasons. This would especially hold for the quarterback position, which is the most critical position on the roster.

Yet here we are, about to watch Jones head into his fourth season. After a somewhat promising rookie season, Jones seems to have been stuck in the mud the last two years.

In retrospect, he tried to function in an antiquated offense that didn't take advantage of all he does well. He struggled behind offensive lines that weren't very good, and he likely wondered if he would ever have his entire slate of skill position players on the field with him at the same time.

Jones's lack of development isn't all his doing--the Giants themselves have admitted to that. They've tried to help him this year with a more modern play-caller (either head coach Briand Daboll or offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, both of whom came from the league's top two offenses last season, will take on that role).

They upgraded the offensive line (hopefully), and they have encouraged Jones to try plays that perhaps the previous coaching staff drilled into his head to avoid.

But there is still much more work to be done with this player. Jones has yet to show a feel for being in the pocket and sensing the pressure around him. He also seems to feel he needs to play the hero when taking off with the ball in his hands and will fight for the extra yardage even if it's not there and puts his health at risk.

His post-snap reads have left much to be desired and have caused many to wonder what he thought he saw when he released the ball. And there have been many times when he's simply overthought a situation, held onto the ball too long, and delivered it too late.

These are the biggest areas of concern regarding Jones, the mental processing part of the game. The Giants can simplify things all they want--and that appears to be part of the plan, by the way.

They can have pre-snap motion on almost every play (also seemingly in the plan). But if Jones can't take that next step and show that he is more than just a game manager, this team could be looking at having to start all over with another young quarterback next year.

Rostered Players

Daniel Jones (4 Years): The Giants have already committed to Jones as their starter for 2021. Jones is playing for his future and must show the team that he can advance from being a game manager to a game-winner.

Tyrod Taylor (12 Years): Taylor represents an upgrade at the backup spot. His contract is such that if Jones falters or misses time due to injury, Taylor will be paid accordingly. And if Jones doesn’t work out this season, Taylor will certainly be the starter for 2023 unless the Giants acquire a new quarterback in free agency or the draft.

Davis Webb (4 Years): Webb will likely stick around on the roster for no other reason than he knows Brian Daboll’s system inside and out and can serve as a player-coach in helping Jones accelerate his learning process.

Positional Forecast

Best Case Scenario: Despite this regime not having drafted Daniel Jones, they not only believe Jones can be the guy, but they also are doing everything possible to make sure he finds success. And certainly, it would behoove the Giants and Jones to finally have things click for several reasons. First, it removes any uncertainty about the future of the most important position on the team because Jones can grow into this system (to which he helped contribute ideas).

More importantly, with the Giants having their eye on getting back to the playoffs, they probably don’t want to have to start over again with a rookie quarterback that, chances are they’d have to trade a small king’s ransom to acquire next year.

Worst Case Scenario: The Giants are confident Jones can graduate from game manager to game-winner, but his injury history is among the looming aspects that could curtail these expectations. The quarterback has missed at least one game in every season he’s played, his injuries coming when deployed as a runner.

That wouldn’t be a problem if Jones knew when to say when on a play to protect himself, but thus far, that hasn’t been the case. It’s unclear if that’s because he felt that he had to load the team up on his shoulders and make plays or if he is simply driven by a desire to show how tough he is (both a combination of the two).

But it’s clear that Jones has an injury history going and that if it continues to interrupt his development, the Giants will have to think twice about investing big money in a guy that can’t stay on the field.

Sleeper: The Giants are going into camp with three quarterbacks, of which two (Jones and Taylor) are virtual locks for roster spots. There aren't any sleepers at this position as of this writing.

On the Bubble: Before joining the Giants for a second tour of duty, Davis Webb entertained thoughts of becoming a coach for the Bills. Instead, he joined Daboll, his offensive coordinator in Buffalo, to help right the Giants' ship. Webb has been an unofficial coach in the quarterbacks room, helping his teammates better learn the offense.

That's an important yet understated role for a team looking to hit the ground running. But at the end of the day, is keeping three quarterbacks on the roster something the Giants will be able to afford to do? They want Webb around, but injuries at other positions might force their hand in having to give up what's a luxury at this point.

Positional Unit Ranking: 2 (out of 5)

There's no question that the Giants are at a crossroads regarding the quarterback position. There is still much faith that Jones can be the man moving forward, but it's difficult to determine what's driving that faith when Jones simply hasn't been afforded anything close to an ideal set of circumstances to help validate that faith.

That said, the Giants believe they have addressed many of the issues that have held Jones back and that the ball is now in the former Duke star's court.

If he comes up short--the likely criteria the Giants will be looking for Jones to show is can he lead this team to victories and cut down on some of his past mistakes made post-snap--the team will move on and turn the reins (temporarily) over to Taylor.