Daniel Jones had his fifth season with the NY Giants cut short after dealing with a neck injury and eventually tearing his ACL in Week 9. He is expected to be ready to go as Big Blue's starting quarterback by the first week of the 2024 campaign. But in addition to becoming more durable, the former No. 6 overall pick must work on several things if he is going to don a Giants uniform for years to come — it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows when he was healthy, either.
During player interviews, Giants reporter John Schmeelk asked Jones what he and the offense needed to improve on. While there are a handful of evident issues within the offense, his answer will give G-Men supporters some hope about the upcoming season:
We started our player interview series position by position on the @Giants Huddle podcast. We start with the QB's: Daniel Jones, Drew Lock, and Tommy DeVito.
— John Schmeelk (@Schmeelk) June 24, 2024
🎙️Listen: https://t.co/Mn6n96RVO6
📲Subscribe to the pod: https://t.co/0BFXnZChKe
📺Youtube: https://t.co/9APzLj83Z6 pic.twitter.com/CcRtN5dXza
Daniel Jones looking to improve several aspects of his game heading into 2024
"Making sure that we're better on third down was a big thing, watching and talking about it this offseason. Making sure we're staying on the field and putting together long drives. I think we're still trying to improve and create more explosive plays and getting the ball downfield, hitting the chances we get. That's throwing the ball accurately, letting guys run, and taking advantages of the shots we have. Those are things we're always working on, but we have a lot of guys who can make big plays."
Jones hit many of the talking points that were not addressed last season. For one, making plays on later downs would bolster NY's scoring chances significantly. The Giants will need to improve on third downs if they want to have an improved offense — they were tied for the second-worst third-down percentage (30.2%) in the NFL a year ago.
There were far too many times in past years that the Giants' offense would be stagnant, and be full of checkdowns and short gains. With a refined offensive line and wide receivers room, there should be improvement in this area. He now has playmakers who can make something happen after the catch and serious deep threats he can throw to down the field.
And finally, he even took accountability for his struggles, citing his pass accuracy as something he needs to work on. Jones has endured his fair share of ups and downs in East Rutherford, but he has never been an above-average pocket passer. In his last full season in 2022, Jones ranked third overall in the "uncatchable and inaccurate" group on Pro Football Focus (15.2%).
After the front office drafted a true WR1 for Jones in Malik Nabers, it is a make-or-break year for NY's signal-caller. If he does improve upon the issues he mentioned in this interview, it might just be enough to win back the trust of Giant fans.