Getty The New York Giants can back Daniel Jones by taking a "run-after-catch" playmaker in the 2024 NFL draft.
The New York Giants are making the right noises about sticking with quarterback Daniel Jones, but the franchise needs to back its starter by drafting wide receiver help. Fortunately, Florida State’s Keon Coleman is a “run-after-catch” playmaker who would “make life easier” for Jones, according to Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz of USA Today Sports.
He named Coleman as the ideal pick for the Giants in his latest mock draft. Middlehurst-Schwartz believes “6-4, 215-pound Coleman could help unlock the downfield passing game that has been absent for the last two seasons.”
As Middlehurst-Schwartz noted, Jones needs a field-stretcher “for jolting an offense that is ahead of only the Panthers with a paltry 4.1 yards per play.”
Jones couldn’t expand the passing game before a cervical neck injury and torn ACL wrecked his season. He struggled, but No. 8 also lacked a genuine big-play threat on the outside like Coleman.
Keon Coleman the Go-To Target Daniel Jones Needs
What Coleman would offer the Giants is a big body and impressive catch radius. Those things help the 20-year-old go up and get the ball against any type of coverage.
Coleman showcased the difference his height and frame make by “high pointing” this catch against LSU, per Renegade Roundtable host Jeff Kirby.
Keon Coleman using his 6’4 frame and high pointing over a 6’2 corner here. Also having strong hands to hold onto the ball while coming down while the corner is trying to bat it away.
The Giants don’t have a physical matchup with Coleman’s kind of speed on the depth chart. Veteran Isaiah Hodgins is 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, but he isn’t running away from anybody, while rookie Jalin Hyatt’s a burner, but not a wideout who will win against press coverage.
Coleman offers the best of both worlds. He’s also a receiver capable of increasing the Giants’ yards after catch output.
Big Blue’s passing game doesn’t feature a wide receiver averaging more than Darius Slayton’s five yards after catch per reception, according to Pro Football Reference. Coleman is a threat to turn any short pass into a long gain, thanks to the “lateral agility after the catch” highlighted by Cover 1 host Jon Helmkamp.
I know we’re watching TNF but this kind of lateral agility after the catch from a 6’4″ 215 lbs WR is just silly from Keon Coleman.
Jones needs a receiver with the physical elements and playing style of Coleman if he’s ever going to justify the faith shown by the Giants.
Daniel Jones Still Has a Lot to Prove
General manager Joe Schoen believes in Jones enough to declare “when Daniel’s healthy that he will be our starting quarterback,” per Michael Eisen of Giants.com. That’s quite a show of faith in a passer who threw just two touchdowns compared with six interceptions before injury struck.
Jones was doing anything but living up to the four-year, $160-million contract he signed last offseason. The deal contains a potential out after the 2024 NFL season, per Spotrac.com, a clause the Giants will have to activate if Jones continues to struggle.
He’ll only get better with superior talent around him. Hyatt has shown breakout potential, but the Giants need more athleticism in the wide receiver room and greater security along the offensive line.
The draft is the best place to look for both of those things. Especially since the Giants aren’t in any danger of relinquishing a top-10 pick next April.
They currently own the sixth-overall pick, according to Tankathon. Earning a higher pick is the only likely outcome from two games against the Philadelphia Eagles bracketing a meeting with the in-form Los Angeles Rams.
Don’t count on popular backup QB Tommy DeVito winning those games and risking the prime draft capital the Giants need to build around Jones.