New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones isn’t at the top of many lists these days when it comes to passing distinctions but he has been good enough in some situations to garner accolades.
Touchdown Wire has deemed Jones the current king of the seven-step drop:
It has been a point of frustration among many observers that the Giants have not allowed Jones to let his freak flag fly as a deep passer over the last couple of seasons. Jones is an incomplete quarterback, which is a primary reason the team didn’t pick up his fifth-year option. It’s clear that this is Jones’ last chance with Big Blue, and we don’t let know what the offense will look like under new head coach and former Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. But if Jones is the guy this season, Daboll might want to consider more deep drops (which ties to more deep passes, of course) than we’ve seen before. That Daboll seems to be pointing to this idea is encouraging.
In 2021, Jones took seven-step drops on 27 dropbacks, completing 22 of 26 passes for 330 yards, 203 air yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 157.2. Two of those attempts came on passes of 20 or more air yards, both were completed, and both were completed for touchdowns. This 52-yard score to John Ross against the Saints’ outstanding defense shows how those deep drops not only mitigated the Giants’ protection issues, but also gave Jones the time to see the field at his relatively elementary level.
Jones bashers will contend that he doesn’t have it in him to get to the next level. But we’ve seen him have uses in his rookie season under Pat Shurmur and with this new coaching staff he could develop into a franchise quarterback.
