Daniel Jones, as a 1st round pick, was guaranteed a four year rookie contract. There is a fifth year option available for all first round picks. That would have made Daniel Jones a Giant in 2023, guaranteed him as the starter and paid him a projected $22.38 million dollars in 2023 according to spotrac. While that sounds like a lot of money and it is, it’s not even half of what Patrick Mahomes or Dak Prescott are set to make. It would be less than what Carson Wentz or Goff are set to make, neither of which are still on the teams that drafted them.
All but three players of the first 17 players selected in the 2019 First Round Draft Class had their fifth-year options exercised. Fellow NY Giant Dexter Lawrence had his fifth-year option exercised. Daniel Jones is among the three without a fifth-year option. The other two, Raiders’ Clelin Ferrell and Steelers’ Devin Bush, both of whom failed to hit the playtime fifth-year option benchmark. According to Pro Football Focus, Ferrell ranks number 171 out of 210 at his position. That’s only if you ignore the minimum snap count as he didn’t play enough to qualify for that ranking. His three-year NFL career thus far has him with just 10 total sacks and 2 forced fumbles. It doesn’t help that his fellow teammate Maxx Crosby had the same number of sacks in the 2021 season as Ferrell has in his career. Or that Crosby has almost triple the career sacks, or that the Raiders drafted Crosby the same year they nabbed Clelin Ferrell. Over the Cap shows Clelin Ferrell’s cap number is just under $10 million for the 2022 season. Crosby’s cap number is just about 2/3rds that of Ferrell and that’s after he just got a four-year $94 million contract extension in March of 2022. As for Devin Bush, a torn ACL in 2020 would make any team worry about the future of a player. Pittsburgh traded up 10 spots to draft him, so they clearly had some high expectations. His play hasn’t seemed to be worth his cost but there’s a chance if he plays well enough he will be wanted back by the Steelers in 2023.
That is pretty much the same situation Daniel Jones finds himself in. Not living up to where he was drafted, battled some injuries, just not worth it at the level he finds himself playing thus far in his career. He threw 24 touchdowns as a rookie. He hasn’t hit half that mark in either of the following seasons. Perhaps the biggest concern is his propensity to fumble. Jones has 36 fumbles in 38 games. DJ also has a total of 49 turnovers in that same span. With only 45 passing touchdowns, over 100 sacks taken, no winning seasons, no playoff appearances, and a career record of 12-26 it is quite understandable why the Giants declined his fifth year option.
Outside of football he’s thus far shown to be nothing but professional. He isn’t causing friction or being a distraction in the locker room. DJ has stayed out of trouble and you don’t see him arguing on the sidelines or on social media. When he was drafted he was instantly compared to Eli Manning for his composure and the way he handled himself. There is a bit more pressure on someone’s shoulders being the quarterback for the NY Giants than just being an NFL QB. The Giants are one of the most popular teams and NY is known for its scrutiny of athletes that represent the region. It seemed as though Jones had big shoes to fill with how beloved Eli Manning was, being the QB for so many years and bringing two championships to the Giants. Eli had the great privilege of being a recipient of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award. Regularly regarded as the NFL’s most prestigious award it set the bar even higher for a player, not just in their abilities on the field but also to make a positive impact outside of just the game.
While Danny Dimes seemed like he could fit this mold left behind by Eli, the NFL doesn’t have the patience for QB’s to go from average (or below average) to the kind of player that wins a Super Bowl. Jared Goff and the L.A. Rams are the perfect example. Goff and the Rams made it to the Super Bowl but lost. More importantly was Goff’s Super Bowl performance. He went 19-of-38 for 229 yards, 0 TD’s and 1 INT. His quarterback rating (QBR) was 16.4 out of 100. Bluntly said he played terribly. He was on a team loaded with talent, didn’t perform well when it mattered most and then the Rams got rid of him and brought in Matthew Stafford. Year 1 of Stafford as the Rams’ QB they won the Super Bowl. Carson Wentz had a great season in 2017. He was in the race for MVP with an impressive 11-2 record. He got injured and was out for the season forcing Nick Foles to take over and lead the Eagles to their first Super Bowl title in franchise history. Fast forward a couple seasons and in 2020 Wentz had a poor showing for most of the season. Despite only playing in a dozen games he ended up leading the league in interceptions, total turnovers and sacks taken. He wasn’t on the team the following season. Daniel Jones hasn’t come close to bringing the Giants to the Super Bowl as the previous two QB’s help do. He doesn’t have a division title. He hasn’t gotten them to the playoffs. He hasn’t brought them a winning season. He has shown flashes of potential and has proven some dual-threat ability with his legs amassing 1,000 yards rushing in his few years on the team. But not much more can be said. The legendary Bill Parcells, former head coach of the NY Giants said it best when he said that “you are what your record says you are.” Under Daniel Jones the Giants have a .316 win percentage. They are winning fewer than 1 out of 3 games with him as the QB. No quarterback can sustain the starting job losing that much, despite whatever blame you want to throw on the rest of the team or the coaching staff.
The Giants had not one but two picks in the top 10 of the 2022 NFL draft. The Jaguars sat in the number 1 pick slot with no need for a signal caller as they had just drafted Trevor Lawrence a year ago. I personally believe if the Giants saw a quarterback they felt was worth taking they would have bundled those picks to the Jaguars to get the first overall pick and ensure they got the quarterback they wanted. There just wasn’t anyone worth taking this year. Most NFL teams probably shared the same sentiment. The Seahawks and Falcons, both with a seeming need at the position but neither drafting a QB in the first couple rounds sounds to that reason. Short of an MVP season and Super Bowl ring I personally am of the belief Daniel Jones will not be a NY Giant in 2023. I’d guess he will be a backup somewhere else and time will tell if he is given a chance to be a starter again. There is still the entire 2022 NFL season, but fans of the NY Giants might want to hold off buying their Daniel Jones jerseys and getting ready to see which QB’s are going to enter the 2023 draft, because that is where the future quarterback of the Giants is going to come from.
