New York Giants Football: Examining trading Daniel Jones and drafting a different quarterback

New York Giants Football: Examining the idea of trading Daniel Jones for draft capital and selecting a different quarterback in the 2020 NFL Draft.

While most would agree that sixth-overall pick in last year’s draft, Daniel Jones, has shown a great deal of promise in his rookie year with the New York Giants, some draft experts such as ESPN’s Todd McShay suggest that the team should trade Jones and select another quarterback in the 2020 NFL draft. Would the Giants be wise to try to trade Daniel Jones for draft capital and select a different quarterback to the the future of the franchise?

Daniel Jones took the league by storm, when he looked like a future star in the preseason and in his first two games as a starter in the NFL. During that span, he led the New York Giants to back-to-back victories against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Washington Redskins. Since then, it has been rough sledding for last year’s number six overall pick, as the Giants have lost their last eight consecutive games with Jones as the starter.

During his time as a starter, Jones has struggled with turning the ball over, having fumbled 15 times, while being intercepted 11 times, for a total of 26 turnovers on the season. As a result, his propensity to turn the ball over has left some questioning his ability to be a solid candidate to be a franchise quarterback. Among those questioning his abilities is ESPN draft expert Todd McShay.

Recently, McShay suggested that the Giants should consider drafting another quarterback in the first round of the upcoming 2020 draft. He said that he wasn’t high on Jones when the Giants selected him in the draft and he is not sold on the idea that he is the long term solution as the franchise quarterback for New York.

The Giants could consider moving Daniel Jones prior to the draft in return for additional draft picks. This is especially true if ownership decides to part ways with general manager Dave Gettleman following the conclusion of the season. If that scenario plays out, the new general manager of the team may decide he wants a different quarterback, rather than being tied to the Jones selection of Gettleman.

If this occurs, the 2020 draft presents a number of solid options in the first round at the quarterback position. LSU quarterback and Heisman Trophy award winner Joe Burrow leads the pack, with Alabama standout Tua Tagovailoa, Oregon’s Justin Herbert, Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts, and Washington’s Jacob Eason all getting first round consideration.

Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert would likely be the leading candidates should the Giants opt to go in the direction of replacing Daniel Jones after one season. Burrow just put together an incredible season at LSU, culminating in him winning the Heisman Trophy. However, there is a good chance that if the Giants are not picking first overall, Burrow is going to be taken by the time they step to the podium.

Justin Herbert was a quarterback who the Giants were linked to prior to last year’s draft. However, Herbert would decide prior to the draft that he would return to Oregon to play another season, spurning any notions of him being selected by New York. Given the reported interest that they had in him last year, it wouldn’t be a stretch to believe that they could be interested in him again this year.

RELATED PRODUCT

New York Giants NFL Pro Line Women's Primary Logo V-Neck T-Shirt - Red

Buy Now!

Buy Now!

If the Giants decide to trade Daniel Jones for draft picks, so that they can select a different quarterback in this year’s draft, what could they expect to get? Last year’s trade between the Arizona Cardinals and Miami Dolphins of quarterback Josh Rosen could be used as a baseline for potential trade value.

Josh Rosen was selected by the Cardinals with the tenth overall pick in the 2018 draft. One year later, Rosen was traded to the Dolphins for a second round pick in 2019, the 62nd overall pick, as well as a 2020 fifth round pick. Rosen was underwhelming with the Cardinals after being named the starter in the 2018 season, struggling with turnovers. In addition he was sacked at a high rate behind a porous Arizona offensive line.

In 14 games played for Arizona in 2018, Rosen had 2,278 passing yards and 11 passing touchdowns. However, he had 14 interceptions and 10 fumbles. By comparison, Daniel Jones has played in 11 games this season and has 2,374 passing yards and 18 passing touchdowns and has rushed for 241 yards and two rushing touchdowns. As previously mentioned, he has 11 interceptions and 15 fumbles on the year. So while Jones has more passing yards, rushing yards and touchdowns despite playing three less games, he also has two more turnovers than Rosen did.

So if the Giants could only manage a second and a fifth-round pick in return for Daniel Jones, would it be worth trading him to select Joe Burrow or Justin Herbert? It’s hard to argue that making that move would prove beneficial to the Giants. Jones has shown flashes of being a legitimate franchise quarterback, regardless of Todd McShay’s opinion of him.

More from GMEN HQ

• Workout clip of Evan Neal training with former All-Pro OT has Giants fans excited
• NFL Draft Schedule of Events: How to Navigate Draft Weekend
• 4 NY Giants who must step their game up in 2023
• This SEC CB at No. 25 overall for the Giants is gaining steam
• When is the NFL Draft?

Many of his fumbles are a result of being strip sacked, because his offensive line has provided him zero protection. Nate Solder alone, has allowed Jones to be sacked a total of 10 times from the blind side. Allowing a quarterback to be hit from the blind side that frequently is a recipe for strip sacks to occur.

Jones has continued to show poise and moxie even with his struggles and has managed to keep the Giants around in games, despite not having any semblance of an offensive line and while dealing with a plethora of injuries to top offensive weapons such as Saquon Barkley, Sterling Shepard, Golden Tate III and Evan Engram. If the Giants can shore up their offensive line issues, providing Daniel Jones adequate time and protection in the pocket and can manage to keep their offensive weapons healthy, Jones has the makings of a solid franchise quarterback.

Instead of focusing on bringing in a rookie quarterback for the second straight draft, the Giants should instead focus on getting a game changing pass rusher such as Chase Young. Bolstering a weak defense would allow the Giants to limit opponents scoring and would allow Daniel Jones a better opportunity to the games that he has kept the Giants close in.

The idea of moving on from a quarterback that the franchise has already invested so much in, this early in his career doesn’t make sense. Especially given that Jones has shown the ability to lead the team in big spots, coupled with the fact that the team has so many other major holes to fill in the roster.

That said, the Giants should continue to move forward with Jones as their franchise quarterback and work on fixing the other glaring issues on the team. Jones has been solid as a rookie quarterback and with a few tweaks could be the elite franchise quarterback that Giants management thought they were selecting with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft.