New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is entering his fourth year as the team’s starter and, depending on how things pan out, it could be his last.
New general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll are willing to give Jones one more shot to succeed this season after owner John Mara publicly admitted that the team did ‘everything to screw this kid up‘ his first three years in the league.
True. Jones has had to operate under an unstable framework that saw the Giants go through two head coaches, three offensive coordinators and an unusually high amount of injuries and illnesses. Jones himself missed games due to injury each the last three seasons.
Former NFL head coach and current NFL Network analyst, Steve Mariucci, chimed in on Jones’ prospects of success as he entered the final year of his rookie contract. That is, unless the Giants exercise his fifth-year option.
“Like any quarterback you have to have a supporting cast,” Mariucci told Newsday this week. “It was a shame that Saquon Barkley was hurt and it’s a shame that they had some offensive line failures. That roster needs to improve, let’s face it.”
The Giants have very little cap room to go on a free agent splurge this offseason, but they do have quite a bit of draft capital that they can utilize to change the direction and face of the club.
“There’s nothing fair,” Mariucci said, “It’s just how it is. He’s got to do the best he can with what they have.”
And what they have is very little at the moment. That could change is Schoen can bring in an impactful rookie class. They can improve their sagging offensive line significantly through the draft as this is a strong class for ‘hog mollies.’
“If Daniel Jones has a better offensive line, has some more weapons on offense, maybe,” Mariucci said. “And then it comes down to him not playing catch-up so the defense has to keep him in games or keep it close so he is not having to throw the ball so much.
“We’ll see how that goes. The jury is still out. I’m rooting for him.”
So are we all, but expect the Giants to have a strong Plan B if Jones continues to falter.
