What's it going to take for Daniel Jones to get some respect at the national level. Coming off the best year of his young career and earning a $160 million contract from the NY Giants, Danny Dimes is poised to be even better in 2023 thanks to the additions on offense.
However, there are plenty of people who aren't sold on Jones living up to the hype entering the new season. This week, Steven Ruiz of The Ringer dropped his QB rankings ahead of Week 1 kicking off. In a bit of a stunner, he has Jones ranked as the No. 20 signal-caller in the NFL. What in the heck is going on here?
Daniel Jones is ready to post a huge game against the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football
"Jones still has his lapses in judgment, though his decision-making has improved. And there are times when he will inexplicably turn down an open receiver downfield to throw a more contested pass closer to the line of scrimmage. Now that New York has added talent to the receiving corps, Jones will be expected to create explosive plays in the passing game. he’ll have to do that more consistently if he’s going to play up to his new pay grade."Steven Ruiz
With all due respect to Ruiz here, we can't agree that Jones is No. 20. How is Ryan Tannehill of the Titans ahead of him at No. 19? Jared Goff, Geno Smith, Derek Carr, Kirk Cousins and others are also ahead of him, which we disagree with.
Throughout the offseason, countless people and analysts have been calling out the Giants for giving Jones his mega-deal. While $40 million a year seems quite high for the 6-5, 250-pounder, you can't ignore the way the QB market has been set.
Jones was fantastic at times in 2022, powering the Giants to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Although he looked rough against the Eagles in the NFC Divisional Round, he was sensational vs. Minnesota the week before. In that Wild Card win, he tossed for 301 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 78 yards on the ground.
Come Sunday night, the Jones vs. Dak Prescott matchup will arrive and the Giants QB will hope to take down the Cowboys for only the second time in his career. If that happens, Ruiz will have no choice but to bump up Jones handsomely in his rankings next week.
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