{"id":66207,"date":"2019-06-04T13:47:19","date_gmt":"2019-06-04T17:47:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=66207"},"modified":"2021-03-07T15:42:50","modified_gmt":"2021-03-07T20:42:50","slug":"giants-comparisons-daniel-jones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2019\/06\/04\/giants-comparisons-daniel-jones\/","title":{"rendered":"The 2029 New York Giants: Comparisons, Regrets, and the Future of Daniel Jones"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This off-season in East Rutherford has seen a<em> lot<\/em> already in the selection of <a href=\"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/2019\/02\/08\/daniel-jones-2019-nfl-draft-profile\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Daniel Jones<\/strong><\/a> with the sixth overall draft pick, the trade of the division&#8217;s best wideout, not to mention additional roster moves that set up numerous questions.<\/p>\n<p>Remember this time last year? When the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/giants\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New York Giants<\/a> were in a rebuild that was almost certainly close to a conclusion? Those weeks after the 2018 NFL Draft were exciting! Fans felt relieved in the choices made by new general manager and head coach <strong>Dave Gettleman <\/strong>and <strong>Pat Shurmur<\/strong> in the off-season to this point. There was a smell of certainty in the air as OTAs were beginning.<\/p>\n<p>What a time to be alive.<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t need to recap this past season for you, and that\u2019s good, because I don\u2019t want to. I, among many, am still in the digestion process of the 5-11 record posted. As for the changes that have been made to the roster in recent months, certainly there are questions being posed and assumptions being made. But all that really can be assumed are those questions themselves, which will undeniably revolve around comparisons. I hope to, in 10 years, return to these comparisons and their corresponding predictions, and be wrong.<\/p>\n<p>Over the next stretch of time, as the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/M\/MannEl00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Eli Manning<\/a><\/strong> era comes to a close, the following will undoubtedly be rivaled:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Daniel Jones to <a href=\"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/2019\/02\/04\/dwayne-haskins-2019-nfl-draft-profile\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Dwayne Haskins<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/D\/DarnSa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sam Darnold<\/a><\/strong> to Daniel Jones<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/2019\/02\/06\/josh-allen-2019-nfl-draft-profile\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong><strong>Josh Allen<\/strong><\/strong><\/a> to\u2026 well, everyone selected in the first six picks of the 2019 NFL Draft, at least<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And\u2026 of course\u2026<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Daniel Jones to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/M\/MannEl00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Eli Manning<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let\u2019s start there.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Daniel Jones Will Face Comparison to Dwayne Haskins, Sam Darnold, Eli Manning, and More for Years to Come<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3>The Story of Eli Manning<\/h3>\n<p>Manning was highly touted entering the 2004 NFL Draft. So much so, that he essentially got to select his team, after word broke that he was to be selected first overall by the then <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/chargers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">San Diego Chargers<\/a>, to his dismay. When Manning announced that he would not play for the Chargers, he was traded to the Giants that very night.<\/p>\n<p>Manning had a rocky start to his career. He won the starting job from <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/W\/WarnKu00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kurt Warner<\/a><\/strong> in Week 11 of his rookie season at home against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/falcons\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Atlanta Falcons<\/a>. My father was at the game (it remains the only Giants showing he has ever attended live) and remembers the anxiety of the crowd who had felt so confident in the coming of their new savior, as the dirty birds overcame. Manning\u2019s only victory that season was in the final week against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/cowboys\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dallas Cowboys<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>However, it didn\u2019t take long for Manning to warm up. 2005 brought promise in the naming of Big Blue as the NFC East champions; which can be attributed to a strong start to the season, despite an anticlimactic ending in the post. 2006 had a similar trajectory but excluded a title. And then, 2007 brought Manning his first of two championship rings.<\/p>\n<p>When Manning was beginning his career 15 years ago, the internet and freedom of social media opinionating wasn\u2019t the fashion quite yet. Therefore, it\u2019s difficult to culminate examples of public opinion on the quarterback\u2019s early years. However, simply considering the memories of those like my father, who witnessed that first full game he played, versus the widespread viewpoint of Giants fans of the ages, it\u2019s clear that Manning will be remembered for his two-ring legacy, while his first-chapter flaws will be tucked away in the cheap seats of old Giants stadium.<\/p>\n<h3>Prediction:<\/h3>\n<p>Daniel Jones\u2019s quarterback story will, like that of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/B\/BradTo00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tom Brady<\/a><\/strong>, and unlike that of Eli Manning, begin with the \u201cnobody wanted him\u201d trope, despite his early selection in the draft and no matter the outcome of his career.<\/p>\n<h3>Inter-Divisional Dynasties<\/h3>\n<p>Just as Eli has been compared to the other quarterbacks drafted during round one in 2004 (<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/R\/RoetBe00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ben Roethlisberger<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/R\/RivePh00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Philip Rivers<\/a><\/strong>, and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/L\/LosmJ.00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">J.P. Losman<\/a><\/strong>), Daniel Jones will face similar evaluation alongside Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State\u2019s Heisman finalist who was selected by the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/redskins\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Washington Redskins<\/a> with the later-than-projected 15th\u00a0overall pick. While <a href=\"https:\/\/giantswire.usatoday.com\/2019\/03\/15\/new-york-giants-not-interested-in-ohio-state-qb-dwayne-haskins\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reports leading up to the draft<\/a> did eventually begin to suggest that the Giants weren\u2019t interested in Haskins, it is undeniably less than ideal that, if these two rookies are the men of the future for these franchises, the Giants will be seeing a LOT of Haskins in inter-divisional match-ups for years to come.<\/p>\n<p>Jones and Haskins are both projected to begin their rookie seasons on the bench as second-stringers, but with team-jumper <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/K\/KeenCa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Case Keenum<\/a><\/strong> at the helm of the D.C. team, it\u2019s hard to believe that Haskins won\u2019t be seeing the field in a hasty timeline. Manning is scheduled for free agency in 2020, so Jones will likely have his time in this sun this year as well, as the opportunities present themselves for proving his worth.<\/p>\n<p>The Redskins as a team are older than the Giants, even after the recent draft. But with age comes assuredness\u2014something the Giants roster shows little of. Over the next decade, it\u2019s hard to imagine Jones leading the Giants offense to better statistics than Haskins, who led his Buckeyes in his singular year as their starter to a Big Ten title. Right now, the Redskins look like the better team. But much can change in the coming years as Haskins and Jones prepare for their dynasties to take effect.<\/p>\n<h3>Prediction:<\/h3>\n<p>In ten years, Haskins will have a quarterback rating in the range of 85-90. Jones will be rated in the 70-75 range. Both will still be starting for the respective teams in which they were drafted.<\/p>\n<h2>The Millenial Monarchs of MetLife<\/h2>\n<p>Clearly, the Giants know something that the rest of us don\u2019t about Daniel Jones. His sixth\u00a0overall selection proves that fact beyond any other reasoning. Jones likely could (should?) have been taken with a much later allocated pick. Gettleman\u2019s confidence in his selection also brings to mind the 2018 draft, which boasted quarterbacks who were, like many of Jones\u2019 colleagues, significantly more reputed.<\/p>\n<p>In no universe would I be so crass to suggest that <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/B\/BarkSa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Saquon Barkley<\/a><\/strong> should not have been selected second overall last year. Still, Sam Darnold was drafted by the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/jets\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New York Jets<\/a> immediately after. The G-Men could have snagged him.<\/p>\n<p>Jones and Darnold will share control of MetLife for the foreseeable future. And we\u2019ve already seen Darnold play. And he\u2019s good. Like, for a rookie year, really good. All that <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/2018\/09\/03\/davis-webb-waived-giants\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">yelling I did last season<\/a> about the dangers of starting rookie quarterbacks? He\u2019s done a pretty stand-up job of proving me wrong in most regards.<\/p>\n<p>The reality is, if the Giants had drafted Darnold over Barkley, the whole projection of the franchise would be aggressively different (we certainly wouldn\u2019t have let <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/B\/BeckOd00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Odell Beckham Jr.<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0go). The team would be in an entirely different place. Thus, Big Blue has set themselves up for years of pie charts that associate Darnold to Jones. And Darnold is facing significantly less adversity than Jones will with the vicious Giants family.<\/p>\n<p>Athletically, the young men are very similar. They ran similar 40-yard dashes and three-cone drills. Physically, they\u2019re both tall and lean and have similar hand size. Both will have had the mentorship of experienced and respected NFL quarterbacks. But Jones is under significantly more pressure. He doesn\u2019t have a <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/M\/McCoJo01.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Josh McCown<\/a><\/strong> ready on the bench. He doesn\u2019t have the awareness or care to maneuver the pocket without throwing risky balls into double-coverage. And he doesn\u2019t have the Jets understanding base of fans, who aren\u2019t even asking for a title right now \u2013 they just want to NOT LOSE.<\/p>\n<h3>Prediction:<\/h3>\n<p>In ten years, Darnold will still be operating at a functional level for an NFL starter. He\u2019ll be playing like a Roethlisberger. Jones will be, comparatively, in a <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/S\/SancMa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mark Sanchez<\/a><\/strong>-esque downfall, and struggling to compete with stronger, younger quarterbacks on the bench.<\/p>\n<h3>Missed Calls<\/h3>\n<p>And then\u2026 there\u2019s the one that got away. Josh Allen went to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/jaguars\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jacksonville Jaguars<\/a> in this year\u2019s draft with the seventh overall pick. That\u2019s right. He was snagged immediately after the Giants took Jones. And even then, it\u2019s a miracle such a promising player was still available when he was. When the Giants passed (honestly, they could have taken Haskins, or <a href=\"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/2019\/02\/10\/nick-bosa-2019-nfl-draft-profile\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Nick Bosa<\/strong><\/a>, or ANYONE, and I still would have been shocked that they passed on Allen), it opened up room for another 10-year quandary. For the next era, Giants fans will be comparing Allen to EVERYONE.<\/p>\n<p>The thing about Allen is\u2026 well, he\u2019s already elite. He looked like a pro in college. And he\u2019ll be playing on one of the top NFL defenses for years to come. In a Giants draft where an edge rusher would have been particularly valuable, the team will now face Allen on multiple occasions over the next coming of age.<\/p>\n<h3>Prediction:<\/h3>\n<p>Allen will make the Pro Bowl in two years, if not this year. He\u2019ll terrorize offenses for years to come, and the Giants will covet him for the entirety of his inevitable championship-winning career.<\/p>\n<h2>Last Word on Comparisons Surrounding Daniel Jones<\/h2>\n<p>In modern media, bygones are never left bygones. Everyone\u2019s got something to say, and until the Giants start winning games again, there will be more than a few regrets in the books. I\u2019d like to make clear how deeply I hope I am wrong about Daniel Jones. He\u2019s definitely taken more heat in recent months than is deserved. It is he, after all, who is to credit for putting the Duke Blue Devils on the map. Plus, he already seems to be performing well in camp, according to his teammates\u2026<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/MattLombardoNFL\/status\/1134863160333209602<\/p>\n<p>Whether these associations will favor Jones, or follow these less-flattering predictions, they will be unavoidable as rival franchises usher in their new eras alongside Big Blue.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"5GH6ov8zSONlIj6uFooFZA\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1145127890\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'5GH6ov8zSONlIj6uFooFZA',sig:'bcBc53daLLaf5evrKm64kU8o6h6LqBofeT27FnWd7Ko=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1145127890',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over the next decade, Daniel Jones will face comparison to Eli Manning, Sam Darnold, Dwayne Haskins, as he ushers in a new era for the New York Giants.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2420,"featured_media":66253,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,54,2,1647],"tags":[4688,4528,478,61,2599,1535],"class_list":["post-66207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-giants","category-editorials","category-featured","category-nfl-draft","tag-daniel-jones","tag-dwayne-haskins","tag-eli-manning","tag-football","tag-josh-allen","tag-sam-darnold"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2420"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66207\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}