On Sunday, New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones tore his ACL. The injury ends his 2023 season early and could force him to miss part of the 2024 campaign, too. Given that the Giants have been so bad this season, they will likely own a top-five draft pick.
For the #NFL's worst-performing squads, rest assured: there is hope.
Here's what the first 10 picks of the draft would look like if the season ended today. pic.twitter.com/i6MmRslBTh
— Prime Time Sports Talk (@TalkPrimeTime) November 8, 2023
The promise of a favorable draft selection has been a much-welcomed development for the NFC East’s basement-dwellers. It is odd, to be honest; with the amount of Giants fans celebrating Jones’ demise, you would think that they just made the playoffs. It is almost as if they would rather be right about Jones than see him succeed.
Regardless of whether you think the Giants need to make a long-term change at quarterback, one thing is for sure: Daniel Jones is not the reason for the Giants’ struggles.
EMOTIONAL: #Giants Fans put together a video for Daniel Jones thanking him for everything, since it *may* be the end of his time in New York
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— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) November 7, 2023
Jones was drafted with the seventh overall pick by the Giants in 2019. They were coming off a 5-11 season, had not made the playoffs since 2016, and only had one berth since 2011. Right off the bat, Jones was not put in an ideal situation.
Throughout his tenure, he has played for three head coaches. In his rookie year, the Giants’ offensive line ranked 12th in terms of Pass Block Win Rate (PBWR). Since then, they have been 32nd, 28th, 29th, and 25th. Not only has their offensive line been abysmal, but to whom has Jones been throwing? Darius Slayton? Golden Tate? Isaiah Hodgins? Outside of Saquon Barkley (who has been extremely injury-prone since Jones arrived), has he had a single great skill-position player? Not really. In addition, over the five years Jones has been in New York, they have been below average three of those years, according to Defensive Simple Rated System (DSRS).
Even with this said, Jones has done his best to do more with less and was fantastic last season. He threw 15 touchdowns, rushed for seven, tossed five interceptions, and had a 62.9 QBR, which ranked sixth in the league. His 1.1 percent interception rate also led the league. This success carried over to the playoffs where Jones carved up the Minnesota Vikings’ defense. He went 24-for-35 passing with 301 yards through the air, 17 rushing attempts for an additional 78 yards on the ground, two passing touchdowns, and zero interceptions.
Even with the disastrous situation around him, who has complained the least about it? Daniel Jones. Everyone who has played with him has nothing but great things to say about Jones and the teammate he is. He has worked his tail off for his entire tenure and too many Giants fans do not realize it. People roll their eyes at āintangibles,ā but they matter in sports, especially at the quarterback position.
#Giants Daniel Jones started his prehab to prep for surgery right away, close friend (and torn ACL recoveree) Sterling Shepard told me. Shep found D.J. on the exercise bike.
"His spirits are high. I was so proud of him because some people want to take a little break afterā¦
— Ryan Dunleavy (@rydunleavy) November 8, 2023
Am I saying that Jones is without blame? Of course not. But I dare anyone outside of the “elite” tier (such as Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, and Josh Allen) to succeed in this situation.
I am not sure whether the Giants should or will draft a quarterback, but Jones is the last of their problems and they should not expect Caleb Williams or Drake Maye to come in and solve everything.
Jones has done his best to make good of a bad situation. In some ways, he has failed, but he also did what no other Giants quarterback had done in over a decade: win a playoff game.
If this is the end, Daniel Jones should not be looked at as a bad quarterback. He should be applauded for his time in New York.
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