New York Giants: Daniel Jones’ ball control a complicated issue

Following the massive scrutiny that the New York Giants incurred after selecting Daniel Jones with the sixth-overall selection in the 2019 NFL Draft, Jones showed an incredible amount of promise in the preseason, with one caveat – his inability to secure to football.  While the Giants and Jones were confident that there wasn’t an issue with ball security, the statistics through five games suggest otherwise.

So far this season, Daniel Jones has almost as many fumbles (6) as he does total touchdowns (8). That indicates a serious issue with ball security for the talented, young, rookie quarterback.  There are a number of reasons that are leading to the fumble issues, and some are more easily corrected than others.

First and foremost, the offensive line must do a better job of protecting the rookie, as most of his fumbles are of the strip sack variety. If the offensive line is able to better protect Jones, then pass rushers aren’t able to get to him to strip the ball as often. In the five games that Jones has started, he has been sacked a total of 18 times and has been hit another 45 times. That is a recipe for disaster in regards to helping the young quarterback with his ball security issues. The offensive line needs to shore up its play in an effort to keep Jones from getting hit and in turn, losing the football.

That said, DJ must assume some of the responsibility for his fumbling problems. He needs to be more cognizant of how much time he has in the pocket and get rid of the ball prior to the defenders hitting him. Determining how much time one has in the pocket is often one of the most difficult adjustments rookie quarterbacks are forced to make in the NFL. The reason for this, is due to the fact that the speed of the game increases exponentially from that of college football, due to the overall athleticism of NFL rosters versus college rosters. Jones is still learning the speed of the game, and the timing will likely come as he gains more in-game experience.

The Giants need to provide additional help to the offensive line in pass protection.  Unfortunately, that typically means that Saquon Barkley and Evan Engram will be tasked with chipping in on blocking duties on pass plays. Neither players is particularly adept at blocking, as both are more known for their play making ability, instead. The Big Blue coaching staff may need to get creative in passing downs by employing a backfield that features both Barkley and fullback Eli Penny, as well as adding tight end Rhett Ellison to the package to help block.

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Ellison was known for his excellent blocking skills at the tight end position while he was in Minnesota. Giants Head Coach, Pat Shurmur, should be very familiar with how to properly utilize Ellison’s skills, as he coached Ellison in Minnesota as the offensive coordinator. Utilizing packages that include Barkley, Penny and Ellison still forces the defense to respect the potential for a run or screen play to Barkley, while also allowing for much needed assistance in the pass blocking game.

Again, the ball security issues of Daniel Jones are very correctable. It is likely that the Giants will work with him doing ball security drills moving forward, much like they did with Tiki Barber early in his career when he was also plagued by fumbling issues. If they can get some semblance of consistent pass protection, Jones can work on getting the ball out quicker to avoid hits and better securing the ball if he is hit – then the issue will be largely rectified. Once corrected, this Giants team will be much more successful offensively, as averaging over two and a half turnovers per game is not something that will allow a team to win many football games.

Given the abilities that Daniel Jones has already demonstrated in regards to learning and adjusting quickly to the game, it is reasonable to believe that he will be able to correct these issues fairly soon.