NY Giants news: Gil Brandt says Daniel Jones will make ‘the leap’

NFL.com’s Gil Brandt is bullish on NY Giants quarterback Daniel Jones heading into 2021, citing all the offensive upgrades as reasons why.

There’s no questioning NY Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is under a lot of pressure to finally deliver entering year three of his professional career.

The No. 6 overall pick from the 2019 NFL Draft experienced no shortage of scrutiny last season, leading the G-Men offense into being ranked 31st in the league, both in terms of scoring and total yards gained.

All the while, Jones’ issues turning the ball over came to the forefront amid all the offensive struggles New York experienced.

2021 could very well be a make-or-break season for Jones, and there are arguments to be made one direction or another, in terms of his status.

But NFL.com senior analyst Gil Brandt is one pundit who feels the third-year quarterback will “make the leap” this upcoming season, citing the context behind Jones’ struggles last year and all the offensive upgrades the NY Giants made during the offseason to help the signal-caller out:

"I have faith that Jones will answer the doubters and settle his spot as the Giants’ long-term QB in Year 3, thanks in no small part to the massive improvements made around him in the lineup. The additions of Kenny Golladay, Kadarius Toney and Kyle Rudolph, along with the return to health of running back Saquon Barkley, mean Jones will be working with the most firepower he’s ever had at his disposal. Don’t be swayed too much by Jones’ lackluster TD-to-INT ratio (11:10) last season; the fact that he completed 62.5 percent of his passes despite working with pass catchers who had a hard time hanging on to the ball (the Giants ranked 12th in the NFL with 30 drops, per Pro Football Focus) is a good sign. I think the former top-10 pick has a chance to put up 20 TDs and complete over 64 percent of his passes in 2021."

The G-Men essentially did all they could to ensure Jones’ success, upgrading in a vast amount of ways at various skill positions, while also getting Barkley, the No. 1 offensive weapon on the roster, back from a devastating knee injury suffered last year.

Don’t overlook those drops, too. One can only think what Jones’ 2020 stat lines would have looked like — and the general perception of him overall — had his intended targets done a better job of hauling in passes instead of dropping them.

At the same time, though, there are still reasons to be concerned.

NY Giants O-line to be a culprit in Daniel Jones’ demise?

It’s easy to highlight all the improvements and reinforcements at the skill positions, as those are the spots where most fans will pay attention.

Yet all of it could still come crashing down if Jones is forced to deliver behind a presumably lackluster offensive line.

Read More: NY Giants offensive line will make or break Daniel Jones

It’s an ominous sign Pro Football Focus ranked New York’s offensive line dead last in the league heading into 2021, and there is certainly no shortage of question marks about this unit. Perhaps offensive tackles Andrew Thomas and Matt Peart wind up impressing, and it’s weird to think veteran tackle Nate Solder could potentially be a roster casualty.

But the interior is a concern, and Jones being pressured on more than 30 percent of his dropbacks last season isn’t a good sign of things to come.

Granted, better offensive weaponry should help alleviate some of the pressure on Jones, and there’s no perfect evaluatory system to determine whether or not his efforts will improve with those weapons despite a questionable O-line, or if he’ll simply not be afforded the adequate protection needed to take advantage of those weapons.

Yet the G-Men had to do something, and they did. A lot of it: giving Jones the pass-catching help he needed.

At least according to Brandt, that should be enough to make a sizable difference in 2021.