Source: Giants Reached for Daniel Jones in 2019 NFL Draft
The experiment of Daniel Jones as the quarterback of the New York Giants is over.
Jones has prevented the Giants from being a competitive team in the league for six seasons now. The issues that held him back at Duke in college are the same issues that have continued in the pros.
Despite all the noise surrounding Jones leading into the 2019 NFL Draft, according to sources and scouts who spoke with Full Press Media, he was not going higher than late first round or early second round.
“The Giants listened to the noise and are paying for it right now,” a source told Full Press Media. “New York reached for him at six in 2019 because they were desperate to get a quarterback.”
Again, this is not Daniel Jones's fault, but the Giants had other issues they needed to address at that time, including fixing their offensive line. Jones was, at best, an average quarterback who went in the top 10.
If you look at the teams behind the Giants, did the Jacksonville Jaguars, Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, or Detroit Lions need a quarterback? The Cincinnati Bengals, Miami Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons, and Washington Commanders were not taking him.
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There was talk about teams trading up to get Daniel Jones, but as one scout told Full Press Media, it was just talk.
“Teams behind the Giants in the draft were not trading up for him,” one scout told Full Press Media. “His highest projection was a late first-round pick. Most had him labelled a second-round quarterback.”
So it begs the question of why the Giants took him that high. As most pundits stated, the Giants could have traded back into the first round to get him. Instead, they take him as the sixth overall pick in the draft.
Entering the 2019 NFL Draft, his college competition percentage was just above 60 percent. His turnovers and decision-making were an issue. Daniel Jones held on to the ball too long and made poor reads, especially in the red zone. These were major red flags for scouts heading into that draft.
“His decision-making has not improved from year one to year six,” the scout told Full Press Media. “His inability to make the easy throw with players wide open is a problem. He still makes bad decisions with the football and does not know when to take a sack leading to turnovers and costing his team points.”
You can talk about the change of coaches and offensive coordinators all you want, but the onus is on the player to improve. Daniel Jones is not improving. Instead, he is regressing.
Again, it is not his fault that he was taken that high. However, being taken that high comes with expectations. The expectation is that you can improve as a quarterback. Daniel Jones has not.
Outside of Kyler Murray, the other quarterbacks taken were either in the late first round or early second. Dwayne Haskins, taken at 15, is no longer playing. Drew Lock was taken in the second round.
If the New York Giants wanted Daniel Jones or believed in him, they could have gotten him later on.
Now New York will look for a new quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft just because they listened to noise in 2019.