Giants believe that Daniel Jones could start Week 1 in ‘different situation’

The New York Giants are planning to have Daniel Jones learn behind Eli Manning, but if things were different at least one member of the coaching staff feels like Jones could start right now.

Despite the fact that the pick looks like a tremendous reach, the New York Giants have made their bet on Daniel Jones to be a future franchise quarterback. Jones, who was taken sixth overall out of Duke despite the fact that some scouts believed he wasn’t a day one pick, is slated to learn behind franchise legend Eli Manning at the start of 2019.

This goes against the grain for most of the recent draft picks at the position, who tend to get in the lineup right away to start gaining experience against NFL defenses. In 2018, Sam Darnold started from Day 1 for the Jets while Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, and Josh Rosen quickly found their way into the lineup.

Manning’s presence here gives the Giants the luxury of having patience with Jones, but offensive coordinator Mike Shula has faith that Jones could start if the situation was different.

The situation that Shula is referring to likely involves Manning not being on the roster. If the Giants had opted to move on from Manning earlier this year, Jones does possess the ability to be a game manager and put guys like Golden Tate, Sterling Shepard, and Barkley in a position to succeed.

Jones won’t have that pressure, however, as the Giants have made it clear that they want to try and win right now. Manning still gives the Giants the best chance to do that, and they will enter 2019 hoping that their improved offensive line and focus on the short passing game will help lead to wins.

The odds of that happening appear low, however, so there is a good chance Jones will end up seeing the field anyway by the end of the season.