New York Giants Roundtable: Revisiting Daniel Jones draft selection a year later
By Ed Stein
One year later, we have a roundtable debate about whether the New York Giants were right to select Daniel Jones with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft.
We are coming up on the one year anniversary of the 2019 NFL Draft. It will go down in New York Giants team history as one of the most pivotal. This was the second year that General Manager Dave Gettleman was at the helm of Big Blue’s draft. A year prior he selected running back Saquon Barkley with the second overall pick.
While no one doubted Barkley’s ability, Gettleman took plenty of criticism for not selecting one of the franchise-caliber quarterbacks available. The New York Giants had an aging quarterback, Eli Manning, in rapid decline, they were in need of an heir apparent.
After Cleveland selected Baker Mayfield with the first pick Sam Darnold (Jets – third), Josh Allen (Buffalo – seventh), and Josh Rosen (Arizona – 10th) were still on the board. Gettleman passed on all of them and said Barley was a future “gold jacket” guy (Hall of Famer).
After not drafting a quarterback in 2018, Gettleman knew time was running out. Then again there were rumors he would extend Manning’s contract through the 2020 season. GMDG went ahead and made one of the most controversial draft picks in Big Blue history. The New York Giants selected Duke quarterback Daniel Jones with the sixth overall pick. Any criticism Gettleman took for drafting Barkley, paled in comparison to the flak he got for the Jones pick.
Jones came into Giants camp ready and willing to learn from Manning, a notorious master of game preparation. The incumbent began 2019 as the starter. With Manning under center Big Blue got off to an 0-2 start and the offense looked anemic. Then coach Pat Shurmur (who was fired after the season) made a decision to elevate Jones to the starting job for Game 3, there was no going back. Jones won his first two starts showing good poise and athleticism. “Danny Dimes-mania” was in full swing.
Reality then set in and Jones lost his next eight starts. His passing numbers for the season were good, 284-of-459 (61.9 completion percentage) with 24 touchdowns (a Giants rookie record) and only 12 picks. Additionally, he impressed with his ability to run and run out of trouble, He finished with 45 carries for 279 yards and a pair of scores. But Jones had a horrible problem with fumbles (he had 18). The rookie finished with a 3-9 record and the New York Giants once again were one of the bottom teams in the NFL.
For our roundtable question, we asked our staff:
With what you know now, were the New York Giants correct by taking Daniel Jones with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft?
The answers very much mirror the range of our reader’s opinions on the subject.