NY Giants Bracing for Improved Version of Jayden Daniels

There are two schools of thought when it comes to facing a young starting quarterback who is about to enter his second season.

Some believe that once a season’s worth of film is accumulated and analyzed, it becomes much easier to identify trends and adjust accordingly.

And then some say it doesn’t matter how much film one accumulates on the quarterback; that the good ones will always pose a challenge, regardless of the signal caller's years of experience.

New York Giants cornerback Dru Phillips holds the latter school of thought when it comes to Washington Commanders signal-caller Jayden Daniels, a player who had one of the best seasons for a rookie quarterback last year and who took his team to within one win of a Super Bowl berth.

“It’s still the same player. You kind of knew what he was going to bring,” Phillips said Monday via video call.

In two games last season–both wins–against the Giants, Daniels, on 63 dropbacks, completed 38 of 51 pass attempts for 435 yards 98.5 yards per attempt) and two touchdowns, all amounting to a very impressive 112.8 passer rating.

Not bad for a player whom head coach Brian Daboll, in an episode of Hard Knocks, said he’d trade up to get if the chance was there.

"He’s a great quarterback, brings a lot to the table in the run game and passing game. Our game plan is our game plan. It’s just try to contain him and do what we can do," Phillips said.

“I mean, yeah, we’ve seen now what he can do, but he’s still the same player; he still gave everyone problems last year, so it’s still the same task at hand.”

The Giants are looking to get off to a fast start beginning this weekend when they head south to visit the Commanders at Northwest Stadium.

New York, which has back-to-back games against division opponents – they’ll visit Dallas in Week 2 – was shut out in the division last season and can ill afford another slow start if it is to deliver on ownership’s expectations to show improvement this season.

Giants will have to contend with more than just an improved Daniels.

Washington Commanders wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. (1) walks out of team headquarters onto the fields prior to practice. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

A more experienced Daniels isn’t the only factor the Giants' defense will be focused on. Washington added running back Austin Ekeler in free agency and traded for receiver Deebo Samuel from the 49ers. To prepare for those additions, Phillips said it will require a little extra studying this week.

“You don’t ever really know with a guy coming over to a new team just because it’s a brand new scheme and whatnot,” he said.

“You know who Deebo is. He’s been a great player throughout the years and whatnot, so you know his strengths, but in Washington’s offense, you’re not sure. It’ll be something that we can kind of assume, but you won’t know until we go play (against) him.”

At the end of the day, the Commanders' offense begins with Daniels, who last season posted a 61.4% accuracy rate that put him 17th among quarterbacks with at least 250 pass attempts.

“It’s exciting to go against a quarterback like that because you don’t know what they can bring each day,” Phillips said.

Daniels aside, Phillips is especially looking forward to the Giants’ revamped defense unfurling all the new wrinkles defensive coordinator Shane Bowen has installed this offseason.

“We’re just trying to show who we are,” he said. “It’s not too much about them. Do what we can do and kind of see what we’ve been working on this whole offseason.”

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Giants will have to contend with more than just an improved Daniels.

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