There has never been any question about Daniel Jones’ ability to rally those around him and gain their trust and support. That happened in his rookie year.
Converting the trust the Giants have in him into winning takes more time.
It’s no surprise that this week Jones picked up several offensive Giants players – wide receivers, tight ends, and even a few linemen – to move to Phoenix, Ariz. To travel for a few days of throwing sessions, The Post confirmed. The Monday through Friday practice sessions – hosted entirely by Jones – will be the first unofficial work on the field ahead of the 2021 season.
Teammates quickly transitioned to Jones when he arrived in 2019 as a subdued first-round pick, considered the next franchise quarterback after Eli Manning.
A year ago, Jones organized week-long throwing and running routes in Texas with the help of Colt McCoy, the veteran quarterback, a former University of Texas star. Keep in mind that the sessions will be much more advanced and beneficial this spring, as Jones and any returning offensive players will all be familiar with the offensive coordinator Jason Garrett’s system for a season. Last spring, the entire off-season schedule was kept virtual, making it especially difficult for a sophomore quarterback to learn a completely new offensive playbook.
Saquon Barkley, who is doing some rehab work in Arizona, is expected to attend the sessions, although his recovery from reconstructive knee surgery will not allow him to participate. Sterling Shepard will join, as will offensive linemen Nick Gates and Will Hernandez.
Newly signed receiver Kenny Golladay is also expected to participate, making this the first time he and Jones have made contact on the field and get a feel for each other.
NFL teams may open their off-season programs on April 19, but these meetings will all be virtual in the beginning.
This is a huge season for Jones. He is 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 lower than his production (24 touchdown passes, 12 interceptions) as a rookie. The Giants went off-season looking for more guns for Jones and they signed Golladay and receiver John Ross, plus tight-fitting Kyle Rudolph.
Head coach Joe Judge and general manager Dave Gettleman have both recently doubled down on their dedication and faith in Jones, as has co-owner John Mara.
“Listen, we think Daniel’s world is in this building,” Mara said last week. “We want him to take the next step. I don’t have any other specific benchmarks then let’s win some more games. I think he will have a better team around him this year than in previous years, so we certainly expect him to take the next step. I just want him to keep improving because I think he has what it takes to be a long-term winner in this competition. “
Golladay, after signing a four-year deal worth $ 72 million, said he sees Jones as “still a bit fresh in the league” and added “I feel like I do and he can do some good things. ” Rudolph, who needs foot surgery and will be out of service this spring, called Jones “a stud” and went astray when he compared his new teammate to a former NFL quarterback.
“He has all the intangibles to be an Andrew Luck-esque quarterback,” said Rudolph, who spent his first 10 NFL seasons with the Vikings. “Hopefully we’ll put a lot of pieces around him and we can take some of the pressure off of him, just let him go out and play with confidence and all those attributes and abilities take over.”
Logan Ryan, the 30-year-old safety who was acquired last summer, spent a season with Jones and believes the one ingredient Jones is missing is time in the league.
“I love Daniel,” Ryan said. Daniel has everything he needs to be an elite quarterback. What he needs is experience, and you can’t rush that. I know we live in a society where we want results in one week. We want results in one year. He had his first starting year. He will learn from some of those mistakes. Sometimes you have to use them to learn from them.
“It is clear that more is expected of him this year, as is everyone else. I expect more of myself to be in the program for a full year. We expect Daniel to lead us to wins this year, and I think he can. “
It all starts this week in Arizona.