Tag: Daniel Jones

Giants’ offense ranked among league-worst following 2024 NFL draft

The New York Giants selected dynamic LSU wideout Malik Nabers with the sixth overall pick in this year’s NFL draft, a move that should help their low-scoring offense improve.

The addition of Nabers may not be enough to move the needle in some critics’ eyes, however. In Bleacher Report’s latest rankings of all 32 NFL teams, Alex Ballentine lists the Giants at No. 30 heading into this season.

It’s a bit of an oversimplification, but the New York Giants offense was one of the worst in the league last season and lost its best playmaker in Saquon Barkley. That’s not a recipe for a much better attack in 2024.

That’s not completely fair, though. They did lose Daniel Jones for all but six games, and he’ll be back. That’s not necessarily a huge upgrade, though. The silver lining for the Giants is they made moves that will give them a better shot at being good—it just might take a year.

Malik Nabers gives them a legitimate No. 1 receiver, and signing Jermaine Eluemunor and Jon Runyan Jr. gives them more functional offensive linemen.

The injuries, which caused the shuttling of offensive linemen and quarterbacks all season, led to much of the inconsistency last year. The Giants averaged just 15.6 points per game. Only New England and Carolina averaged less.

Ballentine does, however, offer some hope for the Giants. As usual, it requires the team to stay healthy and gain some traction with their young core.

Most of the improvement needs to come from young players growing into their roles. Evan Neal is going to get another chance at right tackle. Jalin Hyatt is going to have every opportunity to carve out a large role in the passing game. The same can be said for Wan’Dale Robinson.

Brian Daboll did turn the offense around in 2022 with Jones at the helm. If he stays healthy, Nabers is electric from Day 1 and others step up, this offense could surprise.

The Giants are going to give Jones some rope here once he’s deemed healthy. If he can’t get things going, they could quickly pivot to free agent Drew Lock to see if he can take this offense where it needs to be.

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10 things Hard Knocks could reveal about New York Giants

The New York Giants will appear in the first-ever offseason edition of HBO’s Hard Knocks, which is set to premiere on Tuesday, July 2.

The five-part docuseries will cover the Giants’ entire offseason from January through June, including Black Monday, the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, the 2024 NFL draft, and team minicamps.

“As we enter our 100th season, we look forward to providing our fans with the opportunity to see what it takes to build an NFL roster. Beginning the moment the previous season ended, we gave NFL Films unprecedented access to this critical time of the year. We know viewers will gain insight from moments that have never been captured before and are excited for them to learn more about our Giants history,” said Nilay Shah, Giants senior vice president of marketing and brand strategy.

The potential for storylines and drama is high. How revealing will the Giants get? Exactly what did cameras capture?

Here’s a look at # things the football world could see and learn on Hard Knocks Offseason.

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Beginning last season, reports arose that head coach Brian Daboll and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale were clashing. That came to a head early in the offseason when Daboll fired two of Martindale’s closest confidants, the Wilkins brothers, sending the veteran DC into a rage.

Martindale reportedly blew up on Daboll and stormed out of the building before the two sides “parted ways” days later.

Did Daboll fire Drew and Kevin Wilkins in an effort to push Wink out the door? What was really said behind closed doors? And did HBO cameras catch that final blow-up between the two?

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After more than a year of negotiation, running back Saquon Barkley hit free agency and was quickly scooped up by the Philadelphia Eagles in mid-March. That decision left a horrible taste in the mouths of Giants fans.

After Barkley turned down an above-market deal a year earlier, the Giants opted not to match Philly’s offer.

What did HBO catch during those negotiations and how did the final conversation between Barkley and the Giants organization play out?

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Although losing Barkley was the big story, the Giants also allowed safety and team captain, Xavier McKinney, to walk via free agency.

McKinney had expressed a desire to remain with the Giants while also pushing for what he felt he was worth.

It would be interesting to see how those negotiations went and how each side reacted to McKinney joining the Green Bay Packers.

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General manager Joe Schoen made a big splash in free agency by acquiring linebacker Brian Burns in a trade from the Carolina Panthers.

How did those talks begin? How quickly did they come together? And how did the Giants organization react when they got such a steal of a deal?

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The Giants spent a significant amount of time, money, and effort scouting the many quarterback prospects ahead of the 2024 NFL draft.

How was that scouting coordinated? What were the Giants specifically looking for? How did they view each prospect? Who did they want to target and who did they rule out or grade further down the board?

Although insignificant now, it would be interesting to see in hindsight.

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After Martindale left the Giants, rumors about Mike Kafka’s unhappiness with Brian Daboll continued to swirl. While interviewing for head coaching positions, reports arose suggesting Kafka was willing to move laterally in an effort to exit East Rutherford.

Instead of allowing that to happen, the Giants promoted Kafka from offensive coordinator to assistant head coach and offensive coordinator.

Despite the promotion, Kafka’s exact role remains unclear and it’s possible he’s stripped of play-calling duties.

How did Daboll handle those rumors and reports behind the scenes? What conversation led to Kafka’s promotion and how were those in the front office handling the entire situation?

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Ahead of the NFL draft, reports suggested the Giants were aggressively trying to trade up for a quarterback. After the draft had concluded, it was determined that North Carolina’s Drake Maye, who went to the New England Patriots, was the focus of that attempt.

The Giants ultimately passed on J.J. McCarthy and other remaining quarterback prospects at No. 6 in favor of wide receiver Malik Nabers. The draft concluded without Schoen adding another QB.

HBO should have captured a firsthand look at those conversations and potential trade calls.

How much were the Giants really offering? Was Schoen baiting other teams? Was Jones aware of the potential trade prior to Round 1? A lot of information could be revealed on Hard Knocks.

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Speaking of the war room during trade conversations, what about the remaining five picks? Will we get a glimpse at the Giants’ draft board? What back-and-forth was held before each pick? And were the Giants always targeting the prospects they eventually took or will HBO reveal some other targets they missed out on?

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A large portion of the Hard Knocks docuseries will ultimately focus on quarterback Daniel Jones. He’s a lightning rod and his presence will drive attention among fans, reporters, analysts, and executives.

How did Jones handle all of the offseason rumors? Where is he in terms of rehab as he recovers from a torn ACL and a second neck injury?

Perhaps a better question is: Will we get any insight into the severity of Jones’ neck injuries and what that means for him at this point in his career?

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The HBO cameras will also catch a lot of what has yet to happen. The Giants are into organized team activities (OTAs) at this point and through rookie minicamp, but much remains.

How did rookies handle their first time on the field as Giants? What were the introductions to their veteran team members like? And what went into undrafted players earning a spot on the 90-man roster?

And what happens from here? It’s the Giants. It’s the bright lights of New York. There are sure to be plenty of storylines between now and the premiere of Hard Knocks.

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We’re in ‘goofy land’ with Daniel Jones hate

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones often gets the short end of the stick when it comes to his performance on the field since entering the league.

Jones is the quarterback — the face of the organization — and when that organization is failing, fans clamor for his head. It’s the same with any team, but it feels like Jones takes more of a beating than most NFL quarterbacks.

Retired Giants legend Carl Banks thinks it has gone too far now and that the entire charade is “goofy.”

Bob Papa brought it up in conversation when a tweet that had nothing to do with the Giants turned into a negative conversation about Jones — something that happens with remarkable frequency.

“I think we’re in goofy land right now. Let’s preface this: There’s a certain sector of folks that call themselves Giant fans that have made it their life’s work to (expletive) on Daniel Jones,” Banks said. “And it’s to the point — and they don’t even realize it — it’s to the point to where they’re so goofy with these takes, that it’s making Daniel Jones a sympathetic figure.

“And what it does is forcing people, which I’m seeing more and more of, forcing people to say, ‘Look, he didn’t have certain things, and there weren’t certain things in place, and he’s had several different coaching staffs.’ And so, this constant beating on a guy that you’re supposed to be a fan of his team, it’s just outright goofy. It’s so overdone right now. It’s… not exhausting, it’s tired.”

The immediate response to Banks’ comments only further solidified his point.

“Now it’s the fans’ fault,” a user wrote on the Big Blue Interactive forum. “DJ will go down as the worst quarterback ever to play the position but it has only been because of the coaches, the lack of weapons, the crappy OL, and now the belligerent fans. There is simply no place in professional sports for the victim card. What an utter embarrassment for this franchise.”

The worst quarterback to ever play the game? That’s a goofy statement.

Another user took things even further, likening Jones to a young murderer.

“Banks is a company man,” they wrote. “Found it funny when he sympathized with DJ for having multiple coaches. Almost like the classic (case) of sympathizing with the kid who killed his parents because he is an orphan.”

Once again, that’s goofy.

Others took direct aim at Banks on social media, peppering him with expletives and ultimately proving his point in the process.

It has gotten a little bit crazy with all of the hate toward Jones, but there’s no changing that until the Giants actually do something with him under center. Until then, the battle (and goofy hate) will rage.

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7 things we learned from Day 1 of New York Giants rookie minicamp

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There weren’t many notable non-rookie tryouts for the Giants with the exception of one: Edge rusher Myjai Sanders.

A third-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals in the 2022 NFL draft, Sanders spent last season with the Houston Texans after being waived off of injured reserve (IR) by the Cards in October.

In 20 career games (four starts), Sanders has recorded 30 tackles (21 solo, four for a loss), one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, three passes defensed, seven QB hits and 3.0 sacks.

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PFN names this position New York Giants’ biggest remaining weakness

The New York Giants head into the 2024 season with fewer holes than they had in 2023. They fortified both fronts and added some much-needed depth and firepower to their roster.

One thing they failed to do, however, was bring in a possible replacement for embattled quarterback Daniel Jones. The folks at Pro Football Network have identified that as the Giants’ biggest need after the draft and free agency.

New York Giants

Quarterback

Daniel Jones is coming off a torn ACL, and Drew Lock is Drew Lock.

New York Giants fans can only hope that Jones will recapture his 2022 form, but that probably is wishful thinking as Jones has looked average at best for much of his career.

New York opted against taking a QB in the draft and instead used the No. 6 pick on receiver Malik Nabers.

The truth is, the Giants had just one quarterback in mind at the top of the draft — UNC’s Drake Maye, who was snatched up by the New England Patriots with the third overall pick.

It turns out the Pats had no intention of dealing the pick, and the conversations the Giants had with Washington, who held the second pick, were almost a non-starter.

They passed on Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy with the sixth pick (in favor of Nabers) and all of the other possibles were gone by the time they were on the clock again in Round 2.

So, they will proceed with Jones, who they are still very much under contract with, and back him up with Lock, who could end up being a free agent find.

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Daniel Jones has had NFL’s second-worst supporting cast since 2019

NFL quarterbacks can do a lot on the football field, but no man is an island. They need to have a functioning team around them if they are to ultimately succeed.

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones has been lambasted by fans and detractors since the day he was selected sixth overall by Big Blue back in 2019.

Jones has had his issues, sure. He is often hurt and has a propensity for turning the football over at the most inopportune times. He also hasn’t been able to beat the Giants’ most hated rivals, the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles.

As a result, the Giants have had exactly one winning season in Jones’ five years with the club, leading critics to lay the team’s entire failure on his shoulders.

The truth is, Jones was charged to succeed with a surrounding cast of subpar players and coaches. A recent study shows the Giants have had the second-worst supporting cast over the past five seasons — and were just a fraction away from being the worst.

Management has acknowledged that they haven’t done enough to support Jones.

“We’ve done everything possible to screw this kid up since he’s been here,” Giants co-owner John Mara said back in 2022.

The Giants did ink Jones to a $160 million extension after that statement only to have him get hurt once again in 2023. This spring, they tried desperately to trade up in the NFL draft to select Jones’ replacement, but to no avail.

Instead, they were left to address their many other roster needs, which is what they should have been doing all along.

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Drew Lock might ‘flat-out win’ Giants’ starting QB job

After the New York Giants failed to land a new quarterback in the 2024 NFL draft, the debate immediately shifted to who would win the starting job out of training camp: Daniel Jones or Drew Lock.

The desperation to have anyone start other than Jones has clouded the minds of many, including former Giants vice president of player evaluation and director of college scouting Marc Ross.

Like many DJ detractors, Ross has convinced himself that the Giants won’t go with the former No. 6 overall pick under center. General manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll, despite transparently hitching their wagon to Jones, must go with someone else.

“Yes, (Lock) does (have a chance to start). And I think our guy Mike Garafolo hinted at it when they said, ‘Yeah, there can be an open competition.’ And I think there really should be,” Ross said on NFL Total Access this week. “You look at the Giants’ offense last year and they played better, they scored more points and they won more games when Tyrod Taylor and Tommy Cutlets, Tommy DeVito played, as opposed to Daniel, when Daniel Jones played. It’s the combination of the injuries and the inconsistent and, at times, not very good play there.

“So there’s still a little small contingent of Giants fans holding onto Daniel Jones. But Drew Lock, I think if they give him an honest, open competition, he might just flat-out win the job, if not Day 1 then at some point during the season.”

The main problem with Ross’ commentary is that Garafolo never said there would be an open competition between Jones and Lock. In fact, the veteran reporter very specifically stated that Jones would be the team’s starter in Week 1 and would only, potentially, relinquish that job if he regressed throughout the season.

“If you get into the season and Daniel Jones isn’t playing well then perhaps (Lock) will push him,” Garafolo said. “But I want to be clear about — and what the Giants have been clear about — is that if Daniel Jones is healthy, and they do hope and expect that he’s going to be healthy (by) Week 1, he is going to be the quarterback.”

At the time of his signing, the Giants very explicitly told Lock that Jones would be the starter and he’d be serving as DJ’s backup.

“Daniel Jones is the starter of this team. That’s been conveyed to me,” Lock told reporters in March. “Now, I need to come in and push Daniel to be the best that he can be. That’s the role that I played for Geno [Smith], that’s the role I played for Teddy [Bridgewater].”

But why let facts get in the way of a good offseason narrative? Something has to fill the empty space before training camp opens.

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Do the New York Giants still need to add offensive firepower?

After the 2023 season, the New York Giants knew they had a ton of work to do. The defense wasn’t terrible, although the drama around the departure of Wink Martindale was distracting. The offense, though, that is where they needed to focus and that’s what they’ve done.

During free agency, the Giants added depth and talent to the offensive line, and they addressed the running back position following the departure of Saquon Barkley.

In the 2024 NFL draft, the Giants addressed skill positions like wide receiver and tight end. But have they done enough to surround quarterback Daniel Jones with the talent he needs to be successful?

NFL Network analyst Bucky Brooks doesn’t think so, as he indicated on a segment of Path to the Draft this week.

“No, they don’t have enough firepower,” Brooks said. “Even though I love Malik Nabers, they haven’t done enough to really give Daniel Jones the weapons that he needs to really succeed at a high level. Yes, Malik Nabers is the No. 1 and they haven’t had a number one since OBJ departed, but he can’t do it alone. Nabers can’t singlehandedly carry this offense.

“And with Darren Waller contemplating retirement, yes you brought Theo Johnson in, but do we know if he’s going to be ready to handle a big role? And even bringing Devin Singleterry in, with no Saquon Barkley, can he handle all the responsibilities that the running back typically has shouldered in the Giants offense? I believe Daniel Jones needs more around him to be able to succeed at a high level.”

No one will really know if the Giants have done enough to support Jones this offseason. There are many variables and unknowns. When the team hits the field this fall for the start of the actual season, that’s when we’ll learn how well the Giants did in not only finding the pieces but also fitting them together.

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Malik Nabers can’t save New York Giants QB Daniel Jones

The New York Giants failed to find their new franchise quarterback in last week’s NFL draft and will be forced to continue with Daniel Jones as their starter. For this season, at least.

“Our expectation was Daniel would be our starter and we brought Drew Lock to be his backup and Tommy is a backup, so that’s where we are and that’s how we’ll move forward this season,” general manager Joe Schoen said after the draft. “Daniel is still under contract for three more years. As it sits today, that’s where we are.”

And where they are is hoping that the player they did select with the sixth overall pick last week — LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers — can elevate Jones’ game.

“I don’t think Nabers can save him, not without (Saquon) Barkley,” an NFL executive said, via Mike Sando of The Athletic.

“Malik should help Daniel Jones because he has ability to catch short passes and make big plays,” another executive added.

The Giants attempted to trade up to the second spot, held by Washington, and the third slot, where the New England Patriots were playing hardball. Neither team budged.

“(The Patriots) were not selling, or they were selling at a premium no one was willing to pay,” another executive said. “So do you draft arguably the best run-after-catch player in the draft, or do you take the fourth quarterback and roll the dice? They must feel pretty good about where Daniel is health-wise (after ACL surgery).”

The Giants then decided to play out the string, stay in their place, and take the players they felt would best fit their roster.

“They just sat there and took good players,” a third exec said. “They got better. I thought taking (Andru) Phillips where they got him was early, but it was a reflection of the depth in this draft. You’d like (safety Tyler Nubin) to be faster, but he’s got size, he’s strong, he’s tough, instinctive, can play around the line of scrimmage and has good ball skills to make plays in coverage.”

All in all, the Giants come out of the draft slightly better than where they went in, but with the confidence that they took their swing. hey missed this time, but Schoen made the best of what had.

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New York Giants QB Daniel Jones focused on what he can control

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones was not insulated from the rumors and speculation leading up to the 2024 NFL draft. He was fully aware that reports suggested general manager Joe Schoen was looking to trade up for a quarterback.

But Jones, very much like Eli Manning before him, doesn’t let that outside noise impact him mentally. It didn’t change his approach or focus, and it won’t change his preparation ahead of the regular season.

“I’m focused on what I can control and that is preparing to play good football,” Jones said, via The Athletic. “So, getting healthy and I’ll be ready to go.”

Jones added that he continues to progress in his recovery from a torn ACL and expectations remain that he’ll be ready for training camp.

“I’m in a good spot. I’ll be ready to go for training camp,” he said.

Entering his third season under head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, Jones needs to turn a corner and establish himself as the unquestioned franchise staple.

An improved offensive line and the addition of first-round wide receiver Malik Nabers should help in accomplishing that goal.

“I’m excited,” Jones said of Nabers, via ESPN.

Jones typically gets his teammates together for an unofficial minicamp during the offseason but given his recovery status, it’s unclear if he plans to carry on that annual tradition.

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