With Daniel Jones preparing for the 2022 season, his predecessor discussed his thoughts on the young quarterback's future with the franchise.
The Giants didn't pick up Jones' fifth-year option for the 2022 season, setting up a "make or break" season for the 25-year-old, who faces the challenge of proving he can be New York's future at the quarterback position.
While there are still months to go until we see whether Jones will be up to the task, his former teammate Eli Manning said Friday during the Manning Passing Academy that he believes Jones might have a better chance at breaking through with the help of the Giants' new coaching staff, led by head coach Brian Daboll.
"I think with Coach Daboll, and what they're doing, and that staff, and (new GM) Joe Schoen, having been around the facility some, the atmosphere has changed," Manning said in an interview with NFL Network's Rhett Lewis on NFL Total Access. "So I'm excited for Daniel, I know he's worked extremely hard and you know, been through a lot of offenses, a lot of coaching changes, so hopefully this can be the right one."
Jones was drafted ahead of the 2019 season with hopes that he could learn from then-starter Manning and be in prime position to take over as the franchise QB come Manning's retirement. But in the three seasons since Jones has entered the league, the former Duke product has not lived up to expectations. He's often struggled with ball control, and has not been able to show the consistent leadership and talent many hoped for out of the young QB.
Jones' time in New York stands in stark contrast to Manning's first few years, in which Manning led the Giants to a NFC East title in his first season as the starter and won a Super Bowl in just his fourth year. Needless to say, Jones' tenure with the Giants hasn't been nearly as successful so far, as New York hasn't yet put together even a winning record with him under center.
However, Manning was quick to say that a big part of his own success can be attributed to the consistency he had in playing under the same head coach for the first 12 years of his career. Jones is on his third coaching staff already, after Pat Shurmur and Joe Judge were ousted after a pair of seasons at the helm each. Now with Schoen and Daboll taking over, Jones is having to adapt to yet another system. Manning pointed out that constantly having to learn new offenses makes it significantly more difficult to grow as a player and leader, which is what Jones is expected to do.
"By my fifth year, I had been in the same offense the whole time, I knew it, I could coach it up, new guys are coming in, I was speaking the same language as my offensive coordinator and as (former head coach Tom) Coughlin, and kind of preaching the same stuff," Manning said. "And with (Jones), it's all new, and it's learning, and he's consistently trying to learn and learn and learn, and it just takes some time before it all sinks in."
But with Daboll now at the helm, there's hope that things in New York could turn a corner. Daboll most recently served as the offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills, where he developed Josh Allen into one of the top quarterbacks in the league. If Manning's feelings about Daboll's positive influence on the organization are right, Jones might be able to work with him and develop into the player the Giants wanted him to be -- someone to lead them into a new era of success.
