NFL Draft: Giants reaching for Daniel Jones is an absolute joke
After passing on Sam Darnold a year ago, the New York Giants boldly reached for their next franchise quarterback by taking Duke’s Daniel Jones with the sixth pick in the draft.
In what will become the storyline of this draft, the Giants pulled off an absolute stunner in the NFL Draft. Just a year after passing on a highly touted crop of passers to take running back Saquon Barkley, the Giants passed on impact defenders like Josh Allen to solidify the future of their franchise by taking Duke’s Daniel Jones with the sixth pick of the draft.
Jones will be a highly controversial pick due to questions about his arm strength. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah described Jones’ floor as Ryan Tannehill and his ceiling as Matt Ryan, which is a big swing to be taking with the sixth pick in a defense heavy draft.
Reaction to the pick on Twitter was predictably mixed.
Folks, I think we have to confront the real possibility that Dave Gettleman doesn't know how to do this.
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) April 26, 2019
Remember the last time the Giants drafted a Duke QB?
— Bonnie Bernstein (@BonnieBernstein) April 26, 2019
Dave Brown.
Let's hope Daniel Jones works out better.#NFLDraft #Giants
The Giants have their QB of the future and it’s Daniel Jones not Dwayne Haskins pic.twitter.com/UEn9JrTWQp
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) April 26, 2019
Imagine passing on Sam Darnold to take Daniel Jones one year later.
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) April 26, 2019
Drafting Daniel Jones is all part of Dave Gettleman’smaster plan to land Tua.
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) April 26, 2019
“I wanted to give it an F, but I didn’t… I gave it a D.”@PriscoCBS says he LIKES Daniel Jones, but he doesn’t like him at No. 6 to the New York Giants. pic.twitter.com/w2qj7qXXus
— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) April 26, 2019
This pick was an atrocious use of resources from the Giants. There had been rumors linking Jones to the Giants, which made sense if they were thinking about him at 17, but picking Jones at six when there was no inclination anyone was even thinking about taking him that high is a disaster.
A quarterback with concerns about arm strength is a big issue for a team that plays in the northeast, and particularly at MetLife Stadium, where the winds tend to swirl and affect the football late in the season. NFL Network’s Bucky Brooks went on WFAN yesterday and compared Jones to Chad Pennington, who was a solid player but nowhere near a game changer.
There are also doubts that Jones was the best quarterback on the board with Drew Lock and Dwayne Haskins drawing better reviews here. If the Giants wanted Jones that badly, they could have traded back and picked up more picks to help speed up their rebuild.
In the end, Dave Gettleman will get to live out his dreams of the Kansas City model by having Jones sit behind Eli Manning for a year before taking over under center. Giants’ fans may be dreaming that he’s out of a job if Jones flops.
Next. NFL Draft Tracker: Instant grades and reaction. dark