2019 Draft Redo: CBS Sports Selects Gardner Minshew Over Daniel Jones at No. 6

Should the Giants have drafted quarterback Gardner Minshew sixth overall?

Such is the opinion of CBS Sports, who did a complete Round 1 re-draft last week. In that re-draft, the Giants selected Minshew, who went to the Jaguars in the sixth round, with the Giants first-round pick (No. 6 overall).

Jones, meanwhile, was "chosen" by Washington at No. 15 overall. Defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence went to the Panthers at No. 16 overall while defensive lineman Jeffrey Simmons went to the Giants at No. 17. And the Giants never traded to get back into the first round at No. 30 overall to select DeAndre Baker.

The justification for selecting Minshew, who unlike Jones when he hit some struggles, was benched in Weeks 11 and 12 for Nick Foles after he returned from injured reserve, was as follows:

Minshew was better than Daniel Jones as a rookie. There's really no way around that. Neither were in fantastic situations, either. Jones was far from absolutely brutal and made a handful of impressive throws downfield but too often put the ball in harm's way in the air and by way of the fumble.

Statistically speaking, Minshew and Jones had just about the same number of attempts and completions, with Jones having a higher completion rate (61.9%) to Minshew's 60.6%.

Jones also threw three more touchdowns than Minshew, but where he clearly struggled (and hence the likely reason for the justification) was in turnovers. Jones threw 12 interceptions to Minshew's six; Jones also lost 11 fumbles as a runner to Minshew's seven.

But a deeper dive into the stats by Pro Football Focus pokes some holes into the conclusion that Minshew was better than Jones as a rookie. According to PFF's Adjusted Completion percentage, which accounts for factors that detract from a quarterback's completion percentage, Jones had a 72.3% adjusted completion rate to Minshew's 71.2%.

In the deep passing category, Minshew did post better numbers than Jones, with a 51% completion percentage on balls thrown for more than 20 yards (Jones' adjusted completion rate was 35.2%).

But Jones' pass protection wasn't quite as stable as Minshew's. Jones was sacked five more times than Minshew despite taking slightly longer to attempt a pass (2.72 average seconds per attempt to Jones' 2.70 average time to attempt).

This is not to disparage the promising season Minshew had. The former Washington State star finished 6-6 as a starter, and his stat line was compatible with Jones' and Arizona Cardinals rookie Kyler Murray.

Minshew also benefitted from having a 1,000-yard rusher (Leonard Fournette) and 1,000-yard receiver (DJ Chark). Regardless, the Jaguars finished with just two more wins than the Giants and ended up 20th in the league in total offense and 26th in scoring.

Interestingly, both the Jaguars and Giants will have new offensive coordinators, so it will be interesting to see how Minshew and Jones develop in Year 2 of their respective careers.

Minshew wasn't the only Day 3 draft pick to make it into the first round of the re-draft. Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton, a fifth-round pick who finished the season as the Giants' most consistent receiver, was re-drafted No. 21 overall by Seattle.

Drafting has never been an exact science, and quite honestly, it's not fair to reassess a draft class after one season, especially not at quarterback where rookies do tend to struggle to adapt to the pro game.