Colin Cowherd: Giants’ Daniel Jones under ‘tons’ of pressure in 2021

On a recent episode of The Herd, Colin Cowherd said NY Giants quarterback Daniel Jones was under ‘five tons’ of pressure heading into the 2021 season.

There’s no secret that the offseason moves of the New York Giants have centered around adding playmakers to this offense. After fielding one of the worst offensive units in football in 2020, general manager Dave Gettleman and head coach Joe Judge went on the offensive in free agency and the NFL Draft.

Now, heading into 2021, the G-Men boast one of the most explosive and dynamic sets of weapons in the NFL, at least on paper.

In a recent episode of The Herd, host Colin Cowherd ran a segment where he rated the amount of pressure that was on various quarterbacks heading into 2021. With a league full of so many varying quarterbacks — young guys with potential, rookies, players needing to prove themselves, veterans on new teams — each one carries different types of pressure based on their team, situation, contract, and supporting cast.

Cowherd discussed guys like Carson Wentz, Sam Darnold, Dak Prescott, Lamar Jackson, and Trevor Lawrence. Each one is in a different position than the other and facing many different levels of pressure (for the segment, he rated how much pressure they were under on a scale of 1-5 tons with 5 tons being the most).

NY Giants’ Daniel Jones listed under ‘tons’ of pressure, per Colin Cowherd

When the segment got to Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, Cowherd wasted no time emphasizing that Jones was under a ton of pressure – five tons according to his grading scale.

In full, Cowherd said:

"Ton of pressure. I’m sorry, they went and got Kenny Golladay. They went and drafted a wide receiver with their first pick. Saquon Barkley is healthy. They have gone out and spent money. This is New York City. He’s got Jason Garrett who’s a way above average offensive coordinator. We all like Joe Judge. Their defense is excellent. If they don’t win, it’s not because of the defense and it’s not because of the coach. And it’s not because they don’t have weapons. They got Slayton, they got Golladay, they got Sterling Shepard…they got players. This should be a playoff team."

In short, Cowherd nailed it right on the head. We all know Jones is in a prove-it year and really, the immediate future of the franchise lies in how he performs this year.

Jones had every excuse for having a sophomore slump, from injuries to a COVID offseason with a new coaching staff, but heading into year three, those excuses are all but gone.

While the offensive line is still the big question mark, the playmakers aren’t. If offensive coordinator Jason Garrett allows Jones to play to his strengths and pushes the ball downfield to his weapons, there will be little reason why this offense can’t improve dramatically. A healthy Barkley will make defenses have to respect the run game as well.

This season should be Jones’ best yet. Cutting down on the turnovers further and getting the ball into the hands of the expensive and talented playmakers around him will go a long way for this team.

If Daniel Jones puts together the season he is supposed to, it would allow the Giants to continue building around him for the future, rather than begin another QB search.