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While Daniel Jones may have shown some flashes over his first two seasons under center for the New York Giants, the jury very much remains out on the 24-year-old signal-caller. Since 2019, Jones has amassed a league-high 39 turnovers. This, despite the fact that he’s played in fewer games (27) than seven of the top eight players in the category.
His knack for turning the football over, combined with his lack of high-end production, has led many to question whether the Giants truly have their quarterback. Turns out star linebacker Blake Martinez would somewhat agree with that notion, but only because he views Jones as much more.
“He’s a guy that’s gonna step in the locker room, everyone’s gonna listen. He steps in the huddle, every player is listening to him. He’s demanding, he knows how to compete. We don’t have a quarterback, we have a number one leader of this team and a number one leader in the NFL,” Martinez told the New York Post of Jones.
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Jones Has Big Blue’s Unwavering Support
Martinez’s take on Jones has been essentially echoed by those within the Giants’ organization for much of the past two seasons. Despite the outside noise surrounding their quarterback, there’s no question that the team holds the former No. 6 overall pick in high regard.
“I’m proud of the way he works every day,” Head coach Joe Judge told reporters of Jones during OTAs. “This guy comes to work every day and whatever phase he’s in, if he’s in the weight room, getting treatment on field, throwing with his teammates, organizing things outside this building, the guy always has a plan of how he’s going to attack things and proud to watch how he’s worked.”
“Daniel never shies away from a challenge comes ready to work,” Judge added. “Some is of the conversations we have, when we challenge him internally, this guy steps up every day to the plate and comes to work every day with a plan.”
Jones Labeled Giants’ ‘Biggest Red Flag’
Despite the faith the Giants exude for their quarterback, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox remains pessimistic, dubbing Jones the team’s “biggest red flag” heading into the 2021 NFL season.
The one big question is whether Daniel Jones can bounce back from last year’s disappointing campaign.
Jones showed promise as a rookie, throwing for 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. However, he was not good in 2020, passing for just 2,943 yards with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while posting a passer rating of 80.4
Fumbles have been a constant issue for Jones, too, as he’s dropped the ball a whopping 29 times in two seasons. He has gone 8-18 as a starter.
While a better supporting cast should help Jones improve, he’s going to have to if the Giants have any hope of reaching the playoffs. Bad quarterback play can doom even the most promising of teams.
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