Former Giants Assistant Coach Suggests Why Giants Failed in Daniel Jones Era

When the New York Giants drafted former quarterback Daniel Jones in 2019, he was already burdened from the jump with having to shoulder immense expectations for a player of his caliber.

The Giants selected Jones at the No. 6 overall pick in that draft, a decision that is still argued to this day as one of the most questionable in franchise history. Not to mention he was chosen to be the fateful successor to two-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback Eli Manning who at the time had one foot out the door of the organization into retirement.

With his early selection from the top 10 picks of that year’s draft board, Jones was expected to come in and make a difference immediately to a Giants offense that was losing its luster in the final years with Manning. The issue was that Jones was never that same level of flashy at the college level with Duke–he never amassed over 3,000 yards and had only one season with over 20 passing touchdowns on his resume.

Nor was he placed in the greatest systems for a young gunslinger during his early time at the helm in New York, and the results certainly showed for it. Jones would only eclipse the 3,000-yard marker and 20 touchdowns in one of his first three stints under center, and would take on some of the most sacks seen by any quarterback in that same span.

In addition, each passing year seemed like it held the same set of problems in terms of the quality of pieces around him on the offensive side of the ball, making it hard to fully place the blame on the quarterback for all the miserable records in the last half decade.

So believes former Giants assistant coach Dr. Anthony Blevins, who worked with the team during the Pat Shurmur, Joe Judge and Brian Daboll eras, and said in an exclusive interview with the Locked On Giants podcast that the Giants’ venture with Jones failed mainly as a result of changing the environment around him that he was finding some early growth in.

“Well, I’ll say this. Daniel came in and replaced Eli the legend. So that’s hard within itself, and how he handled that. But I think one of the biggest mistakes was not continuing the growth process with Pat Shurmur that first year,” Blevins said.

“Because you just took a guy that was a rookie and you made him a rookie again and you went with a guy in Joe Judge that wasn’t an offensive guy, wasn’t an offensive head coach. You needed somebody that could truly develop the quarterback. And I don’t think, you know, that was the case.”

The Shurmur tenure with the Giants, which took place from 2018-19, was certainly nothing to write home about, but there was evidence of the former quarterbacks coach with the Philadelphia Eagles having some sort of positive impact on the initial development of Jones who took over the starting role for the majority of his NFL debut.

Despite the Giants going 4-12 that season and owning a mediocre offense in terms of overall production, Jones had arguably one of his best years moving the football in the air. He posted a 61.9% completion percentage on his 459 pass attempts for 3,027 yards and a 2-1 ratio between touchdowns (24) and interceptions thrown (12).

Jones had some pretty remarkable performances in that stretch of 13 appearances, including his infamous welcome to the league moment that came on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when he combined for four touchdowns and executed a beautiful game-winning drive with his last score to steal his first 32-31 win as a pro.

Nov 3, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; ex-New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Before Jones could earn a full year’s work under his belt in the Shumur system, the Giants parted ways with the coach and replaced him with the special teams archetype in Judge. That offensive scheme wasn’t as conducive to his needs, and any early signs of progress went sideways in the next two seasons.

The Giants offense was anemic and fell to the second-worst scoring unit in the league in Judge’s first year as the head coach. By the end of the second, Jones’s number fell to 2,428 yards and 10 touchdowns with 17 combined interceptions and nagging neck ailments taking hold of his consistent availability.

The other problem was the lack of any true weapons that came into play under the Gettleman-Judge regime that didn’t end until the end of the 2021 season. Outside of Saquon Barkley, who had his own ACL and ankle injuries that limited him to 15 games after two 1,000-yard outings in that span, the Giants investment in the receiving corps with guys like Kenny Golladay, Kadarius Toney and Kyle Rudolph failed to produce a player with more than 521 yards and three touchdowns.

Then, there was the inept offensive line that slid from 17th in pass blocking grade during the last year with Shurmur to dead last in 2020 and 30th by the time Judge was relieved of his duties after a 4-13 stint the following season. The Giants kept investing money and draft capital into options that could turn the tides, but it wasn’t working and only led to a deterioration of Jones’ confidence.

It all culminated in the once hopeful successor to Manning getting battered up, mentally weakened in the pocket and now out of the picture. The Giants now find themselves in the same predicament six long years later, a tired fanbase and with the solution awaiting a potential partnership with the next candidate in the upcoming 2025 draft.

Before the Giants get there and choose their next franchise quarterback of the future, it’ll be this lesson that should speak loudly to Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll who are also on the cusp of a make or break season for the longevity of their jobs.

Build around your rookie quarterback, whether that is Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward or the field, before you place him into the fire, and the risk of the same story as Jones saw play out in his beleaguered six-year run in the Big Apple that is now miserably over.

“I think that's the biggest thing. And when I say that, the biggest thing is go get him some weapons and go protect him. Find guys that can protect the quarterback. Because when you, when you get hit too early, the quarterback quits,” Blevins added.

“Look, he quits looking at coverage. He quits looking at things that are down the field. He starts looking at the rush so his eyes are down and he doesn't see open receivers because he's like, ‘don't hit me, I don't have a ball. Don't hit me.’ So I Think that those are the keys. Find weapons to help him and find the offensive line that can protect him.”

The good news is the Giants are already on the right track with providing themselves a better offensive product for the incoming novice. They have a few pieces on the front who showed there are valuable pass blockers when healthy, and have unearthed some budding stars in skill players like Malik Nabers’ vertical prowess and Tyrone Tracy’s valiant rushing up the gut of the defense and dual threat skillset.

As Blevins mentioned in the interview, they still have a good offensive minded-leader in Daboll who might be calling the plays again, unless it gets handed over to Mike Kafka, and ‘hasn’t forgotten how to coach’. He has just been waiting for his arm to mold like he did in Buffalo with Josh Allen, and now that potential can be fulfilled with the right quarterback selection in April’s festivities.

But the Giants must avoid the mistakes of their past with Daniel Jones to ensure a brighter future with his chosen successor.

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