Getty Brian Daboll could do for an All-Pro QB what he did for Daniel Jones.
Replacing Daniel Jones isn’t something the New York Giants necessarily want to do after the quarterback enjoyed a career season. Yet, things could change if an “outlandish” suggestion became reality and landed the Giants a former NFL MVP perfect for their offense.
Lamar Jackson will be the most sough-after quarterback in free agency if the All-Pro doesn’t agree a new contract with the Baltimore Ravens. The Giants should be interested if Jackson tests the market, according to Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr, despite how far-fetched the possibility might appear.
Orr acknowledges the Giants letting Jones enter free agency then going after Jackson would be a shock: “Outlandish? Maybe. Probably. Almost certainly. But … the Giants are set up to run an offense for Jackson.”
The last point is key. Would Giants’ head coach Brian Daboll turn down working with a premium athlete like Jackson and achieving what he produced with Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills?
Brian Daboll, Lamar Jackson Combination Would Make Giants Super Bowl Contenders
A Jackson and Daboll combination would immediately make the Giants Super Bowl contenders. That’s not a slight to Jones, who performed admirably and enjoyed a banner year during Daboll’s first season in charge.
As good as he was, Jones is not a unique talent like Jackson, evidenced by the latter’s record-setting numbers, per StatMuse:
Players with 3,000 pass yards and 1,000 rush yards in a season:
— Lamar Jackson
That’s it.
Jackson is also the only quarterback with two 1,000-yard rushing seasons to his credit. He’s a more dynamic runner than Jones, with only Daboll’s previous star pupil, Allen, having kept pace with Jackson’s dual-threat exploits, according to Pro Football Focus:
QB rushing yard leaders since 2018:
1. Lamar Jackson – 3,237
2. Josh Allen – 1,708
Daboll took Allen’s raw physical tools and refined them into a two-time Pro Bowl signal-caller. The same coaching helped Jones go from a potential draft bust to a QB1 who won 10 games and posted career-highs in passing yards (3,205), average yards per attempt (6.8) and rushing yards (708).
It’s easy to believe Daboll would elevate Jackson to awesome heights, based on the player already having two Pro-Bowl berths, All-Pro credentials and an NFL MVP award on his CV.
Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka run the kind of scheme Jackson is used to with the Ravens. It’s a system based around a strong rushing attack led by Saquon Barkley, with the quarterback expected to supplement the run and be efficient when putting the ball into the air.
The Giants also have something else that might appeal to Jackson. Namely, the financial means to offer him the kind of contract he wants.
Giants Have Cap Space to Make a Splash Move
General manager Joe Schoen can make a splash for Big Blue this offseason. He has $44,419,480 under the salary cap, per Spotrac.com, but will Schoen use it to retain Jones and Barkley or commit the cash to signing a marquee free agent?
The dilemma will be real if Jackson enters the market. It will happen if the 26-year-old doesn’t want to play under the franchise tag.
Using the exclusive tag would make it easier for the Ravens to control any trade involving Jackson. They can still get two first-round picks if Jackson accepted the non-exclusive tag, but he’d be free to sign for anyone, including one of Baltimore’s rivals in the AFC.
The Ravens would obviously prefer Jackson lands in the NFC if he chooses to leave. That would make the Giants a good destination, but only if Schoen is willing to sacrifice one of Jones or Barkley.
It would be easier to let Jones test free agency and then tag Barkley. The tag for running backs will cost as much as $10.091 million, per The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov:
Official Franchise (non-exclusive) and Transition tag salaries for this upcoming offseason:
Locking Barkley down for at least another year, while still having enough funds to increase Jackson’s 2022 base salary of $23,016 million would be a dream scenario for the Giants. Especially if the alternative is paying Jones more than $30 million annually, an amount Heavy’s Senior NFL reporter Matt Lombardo revealed it will likely take to retain the passer drafted sixth overall in 2019.
There are intangibles in favor of the Giants going after Jackson, one reason why Schoen and Daboll may not resist the temptation. They have a choice to either trust the same small, smart and patient team-building approach that worked last offseason or build on their success by signing a difference-maker who’d guarantee the Giants are contenders again next season.