There was never any doubt about Daniel Jones’ ability to gather those around him, gaining his trust and support. This happened in his debut year.
Transforming the confidence that the Giants have in him to win, well, this is taking longer.
It is no surprise that Jones this week brought together several offensive Giants players – wide receivers, tight end and even some attackers – to travel to Phoenix, Arizona, for a few days of shooting sessions, the Post confirmed. Monday through Friday training – organized entirely by Jones – will be the first unofficial field work before the 2021 season.
Teammates quickly accepted Jones when he arrived in 2019 as a discreet first-round pick, considered the franchise’s next defender after Eli Manning.
A year ago, Jones arranged for a week to launch and race routes in Texas, with the help of Colt McCoy, the veteran reserve quarterback, a former University of Texas star. Realize that the sessions this spring will be much more advanced and beneficial, considering that Jones and all the offensive players who return have the value of a season of familiarity in the system of the offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. Last spring, the entire off-season program was carried out virtually, making it especially difficult for a sophomore quarterback to learn a completely new offensive handbook.
Saquon Barkley, doing rehabilitation work in Arizona, is expected to participate in the sessions, although his recovery from reconstructive knee surgery will not allow him to participate. Sterling Shepard will participate, as will strikers Nick Gates and Will Hernandez.
Newly hired receiver Kenny Golladay is also expected to participate, making this the first time that he and Jones have connected on the pitch and begin to feel for each other.
NFL teams can open their programs out of season on April 19, but these meetings will all be virtual at the start.
This is a great season ahead for Jones. He has 8-18 as a starter, with a career passer rating of 84.1 and a second season (11 touchdown passes, 10 interceptions) that was one step below his production (24 touchdown passes, 12 interceptions) as a newbie. The Giants entered this off-season determined to find more weapons for Jones and hired Golladay and receiver John Ross, in addition to tight end Kyle Rudolph.
Coach Joe Judge and general manager Dave Gettleman recently doubled their commitment and belief in Jones, as did co-owner John Mara.
“Listen, we think of Daniel’s world in this building,” said Mara last week. “We want to see you take the next step. I don’t have any specific benchmarks other than we are going to win a few more games. I think he will have a better team around him this year than in previous years, so we certainly hope he takes the next step. I just want to see him continue to improve, because I think he has everything to be a long-term winner in this league. “
Golladay, after signing a four-year contract worth $ 72 million, said he sees Jones as “still a bit new in the league” and added “I feel like he and I can do some good things”. Rudolph, who needs foot surgery and will be out of service this spring, called Jones “a stud” and made a mistake comparing his new teammate to a former NFL defender.
“He has all the intangible attributes to be an Andrew Luck-type quarterback,” said Rudolph, who spent his first 10 seasons in the NFL with the Vikings. “Hopefully we put a lot of pieces around him and we can take some of the pressure off him, let him go there and play with confidence and let all those attributes and skills take over.”
Logan Ryan, the 30-year-old safety acquired last summer, spent a season with Jones and believes that Jones’ only missing ingredient is time in the league.
“I love Daniel,” said Ryan. “Daniel has everything he needs to be an elite quarterback. What he needs is experience, and you can’t rush it. I know that we live in a society where we want results in a week. We want results in one year. He had his first year to start. He will learn from some of these mistakes. Sometimes you have to commit them to learn from them.
“Obviously, more is expected of him this year like everyone else. I expect more from myself being in the program for a whole year. We hope Daniel will lead us to victories this year, and I believe he can. “
It all starts this week in Arizona.