The New York Giants haven’t appeared in a Super Bowl since 2011, and have lost 100 games since, but might Daniel Jones finally lead Big Blue back to the mountaintop?
Many New York Giants fans may be tired of Daniel Jones at quarterback, and think he is not the solution to all of New York’s problems, however, he is not the franchise’s biggest issue, either.
Quarterback is the most complicated position in all of football, and the Jones situation with the Giants has been one of the hardest nuts to crack in the NFL.
Jones has faced injury issues, bad decision-making, as well as a history of fumbling issues throughout his Giants career.
However, to his credit, he is on his third head coach going into his fourth year, and his receivers have been among the league leaders in drops.
The offensive line of the New York Giants has also struggled since well before Jones’ college career was over. He inherited a line that had failed Eli Manning during his last seasons and is now failing Jones in his development.
Heading into this season, the Giants have two top ten picks and could pick up two offensive linemen to support Jones.
With new head coach Brian Daboll, who helped develop Josh Allen, Jones could develop at a much better rate. Daboll could also better utilize receivers like Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney, putting them and Jones in positions for success.
Assuming Saquon Barkley is still wearing Giants blue in 2022, he will be a weapon in the backfield for Jones to use as well.
Compared to years past, the Giants are in a better situation than before, but Super Bowl? That’s a lofty goal.
Here’s why Daniel Jones is capable of winning the New York Giants a Super Bowl:
A Well-Rounded Roster is Much More Important than QB Play
Quarterback is the most important position on the football field, but championships have been won without Hall of Fame gunslingers.
The New York Giants franchise is familiar with the name Jeff Hostetler, who won the Giants SuperBowl XXV against the mighty Buffalo Bills. Hostetler came in near the end of the season for an injured Phil Simms and still won a championship.
Nick Foles had a very similar story following an injury to MVP candidate the time Carson Wentz. Foles went on to win the Super Bowl for Philadelphia.
Brad Johnson won a championship with Tampa despite being more of a game manager, Trent Dilfer won the Ravens a ring despite being released not long after.
What all of these teams had in common was a great roster, especially on the defensive side of the ball. New York should be focusing on building upon their young and exciting defense and adding key veterans to beef up the lineup.
Jones has the ability to become a game manager as he matures in his career, and Barkley can be a great running back to run the clock.
In this scenario, Jones would not be the reason the Giants won the Super Bowl, but the reason they did not lose it.
Conservative, run-based, and defensive football has proven to be very effective in the league’s history, and the Giants could be next.
The hiring of Brian Daboll shows that maybe the Giants do not want to go in that direction, but anything could change.
Has Daniel Jones hit his ceiling yet?
Jones has not had a very consistent number of seasons as previously mentioned, but the young signal-caller still has potential. He turns 25 this spring and has plenty of time to develop.
In his rookie season, he threw for 24 touchdowns to just 12 interceptions. Many thought he could only go up, but there was a decline from there on out.
His sophomore slump was apparent with only 11 touchdowns to 10 interceptions in 14 starts
This season he dealt with injury issues and only started 11 games including the one he was injured in. He had a 10 to seven interception ratio while healthy, however.
His numbers are nothing to be impressed by, but much of the blame can go to the Giants’ rosters at the time.
With a hopefully revamped roster especially on the offensive line for Jones, his development can restart.
The trend of Jones will be decided by the performance of Daboll’s coaching. His skills with quarterbacks will need to be in full strength as Jones is a project still.
The receivers should be playing to better potential with an already better head coach, so Jones should be in a much better situation.
He has not shown the potential to be a top 10 or top-five quarterback, but he can improve to an average tier of quarterbacks and go from there.
The idea is that Daboll’s system will make him look better than his talent may show, but time will tell.
So, Should New York Giants Keep Daniel Jones?
The roster of the New York Giants is not set up to support a veteran presence to make a run at a championship. Nor is it set up to develop a rookie quarterback that will come through the draft.
The only real option for New York is to ride out the Daniel Jones wave and try to squeeze any last ounce of potential he may have.
Setting up a better roster for a future quarterback, or an improved jones is ideal for the Gmen.
But, if the Giants were to put together a top-five defense, and a great offensive line, Jones could be a cheap option to win a championship with.
So, the Giants should hold on to Jones, the other options are either a waste of draft capital or would not put them much closer to a championship in the first place.
Both Jones and the Giants are stuck between the rock and the hard place that is roster growth, but neither have much of a choice than to wait and see what happens next.