Former Giants wide receiver: ‘I feel bad for Daniel Jones’

Former New York Giants wide receiver Golden Tate explains why he feels bad for quarterback Daniel Jones.

The New York Giants have been among the most dysfunctionally run franchises in the NFL recently under general manager Dave Gettleman. He drafted quarterback Daniel Jones in 2019 with the sixth-overall pick, and did not give him much help in terms of coaching and a competent offensive line.

Gettleman is gone, and Joe Schoen has entered as the new general manager, who made the decision to not pick up Jones’ fifth-year option, meaning he is set to become a free agent at the end of next season.

Jones’ former wide receiver, Golden Tate, spoke with Andy Vasquez of NJ Advance Media and expressed how he feels bad for the fourth-year signal-caller.

"“I honestly feel bad for Daniel,” Tate told NJ Advance Media on Wednesday. “He was drafted into a rebuilding organization for one, had Pat Shurmur for a year and then got Joe Judge for two years, now another head coach and another rebuild going into his fourth season. He hasn’t had Saquon [Barkley], myself, [Kenny] Golladay, Sterling [Shepard] – no one is ever on the field at the same time. And then on top of that, he had [Jason] Garrett [as his offensive coordinator] and that probably didn’t help much.“So you kind of feel bad for him because a ton of talent. He has a lot of talent but he just hasn’t had much help due to injuries and how they set it up.”"

Golden Tate explains why he feels bad for Daniel Jones

The quarterback has had one of the most unideal situations in recent memory. The starting offense was rarely at full health and on the field at the same time. Jones was a part of that problem, however, as he picked up a multitude of injuries during his first three years. But, there has not been a lot that has gone in his favor.

Jones thrived in his rookie season while playing in Pat Shurmur’s offensive system. Then, Shurmur was fired at the end of the season, but Gettleman remained. The organization brought in New England Patriots special teams coordinator Joe Judge to be the new head coach. Judge brought along former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett to be his new offensive coordinator.

The quarterback’s production took a hit in the two seasons of the Judge era. Garrett was fired midway through last season and replaced by Freddie Kitchens. At the end of the season, Gettleman got a victory lap at MetLife Stadium despite leaving the organization in terrible shape and the aforementioned 19 victories. Judge was let go after a disastrous end to last season, highlighted by an infamous press conference rant and back-to-back quarterback sneaks called deep near their own end zone in their Week 18 game against the now-Washington Commanders.

Jones has the chance to truly turn things around this season.

Daboll is credited for his work with Josh Allen on the Buffalo Bills, who has developed into one of the top quarterbacks in the entire league. His new offensive coordinator is Mike Kafka, who worked with Patrick Mahomes since he was selected in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

Perhaps the best thing of them all is that Schoen focused on actually improving the offensive line by bringing in Mark Glowinski and Jon Feliciano in free agency while using the seventh-overall pick on Alabama right tackle Evan Neal. Add those players alongside left tackle Andrew Thomas, and it is a vast improvement than what Gettleman has put out on the field in the four years prior.

The help is there, it is now up to Jones to prove that he can be the franchise’s quarterback for the foreseeable future.