Getty Daniel Jones and Darius Slayton have been roasted by a wide receiver worth $120 million.
Tyreek Hill is the latest NFL player to pile on the New York Giants for the decision to re-sign quarterback Daniel Jones to a four-year contract worth $160 million. The deal was already mocked by Chicago Bears safety Jaquan Brisker, who tweeted: “MVP lol… other Bruh got paid today and is trash fam.”
Brisker’s reference to Jones getting paid while the Baltimore Ravens gave 2019 NFL MVP Lamar Jackson the non-exclusive franchise tag, prompted one of Jones’ favorite targets, wide receiver Darius Slayton, to retweet the 20-12 scoreline from when the Giants beat the Bears in Week 4 last season.
Hill, who is playing on his own sweet deal worth $120 million with the Miami Dolphins, was quick to respond by retweeting Slayton’s putdown of Brisker and including the caption: “Yeah the slant route gone be crazy next year.”
It’s not too tough to read between the lines and see what the seven-time Pro-Bowl wideout is getting at. Hill is taking aim at the Giants’ pedestrian, Jones-led passing game.
Although the statistics support this view, both Hill and Brisker have provided the perfect bulletin-board material to inspire Jones to turn his bumper payday into a breakout year.
Daniel Jones Has Plenty of Critics to Answer
It’s fair to label the Giants’ air attack as small ball last season, at least on one level. Jones directed an offense that produced a league-low 28 completions of 20-plus yards.
He also had the second-lowest number of “big time throws,” per NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal, citing numbers from Pro Football Focus:
5 lowest “big time throw” rates per PFF last season:
Matt Ryan
Daniel Jones
Joe Flacco
Deshaun Watson
Cooper Rush
The obvious rebuttal to the argument Jones can’t push the ball vertically with the best of them, is to cite his lack of elite wide receivers. That includes Slayton, who despite flashing potential as a deep threat by averaging a career-high 15.7 yards per grab in 2022, is not in Hill’s league as a premier field-stretcher.
The latter tied for the league lead with seven catches of 40 yards or more, including this one against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 13:
Deep pass to @cheetah for 6! #FinsUp
📺: #MIAvsSF on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ t.co/PMTJ1jGqFs
Hill’s reputation as an elite burner is well-established from his glory days with the Kansas City Chiefs, as well as an electric first season with the Dolphins. One significant point about his debut campaign in Miami concerns Tua Tagovailoa.
The quarterback’s average yards per completion jumped from 6.8 to 8.9 with Hill in the fold. It’s ample proof of how a dynamic receiver can transform a passer’s output.
There’s no Hill for Jones to aim for, so now it’s up to the Giants to find him one.
Daniel Jones Will Improve With Stronger Supporting Cast
Slayton’s a free agent and so is Richie James, who led the Giants with 57 receptions last season. The number tied with running back Saquon Barkley for most catches, further proof the Giants have a dearth of playmakers out wide.
Things will improve if 2022 second-rounder Wan’Dale Robinson returns to full health following a torn ACL. Yet, Robinson is more suited to the slot and running those “slant” patterns Hill chose to mock.
What the Giants need is a wideout capable of routinely taking the top off of defenses. They’re unlikely to find one in free agency, but the 2023 NFL draft is a different story.
A prospect like TCU’s Quentin Johnston has already expressed interest in suiting up for the Giants. Then there’s Tennessee’s Jalin Hyatt, who is described as a “vertical stretch target” by ESPN analyst Matt Bowen:
#Tennessee WR Jalin Hyatt.
6-foot, 176
4.40 40
40 Vertical
11.3 Broad Jump
Vertical stretch target (bottom of the screen). Floats past defenders. Has the deep ball ability to alter coverage schemes (more 2-deep shells).
The Giants won’t give Jones a fair chance to silence his doubters unless they equip him with a receiver who can go long. Head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka did what they had to in order to help Jones stay efficient last season, but things are different with a lucrative new contract tucked under the QB1’s arm.
Now he’s being paid as a top quarterback, it’s time the Giants surrounded Jones with top-tier pass-catchers.