New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is happy to accommodate rookie center John Michael Schmitz's dead snap technique as long as the ball gets back to him.
Schmitz, 24, was selected at No57 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft and is a practitioner of the dead snap, which is where the center puts one point of the football in the palm of his hand and snaps it to the quarterback end-over-end instead of in a spiral.
The dead snap is more common in college than in the NFL and the Giants' new boy Schmitz used it as an All-American center at Minnesota. However, his new thrower, Jones, has never taken a dead snap at any point in his football career.
Schmitz has previously said that he'd be willing to change his ways if quarterback Jones wanted him to. However, 2019 No6 draftee Jones is happy for Schmitz to continue with the technique heading into the 2023/24 season. "As long as it gets back to me,” Jones told ESPN.
And at the Giants' OTAs, Jones says he has little to complain about, with Schmitz's accuracy earning rave reviews from the QB. “It’s been good,” Jones said. “Yeah, I’m good with it. He’s accurate.”
Jones continued: "He’s been great too. He’s been great. He’s a smart guy. Been in here working hard. He’s on it every day, working to learn and understand what we’re doing in protections, what we’re doing in the run game.
"Obviously, this is more of a passing camp. So, a lot of that run stuff’s happening in meetings and then walkthroughs out here. But he’s doing a great job, and it’s been fun working with him.”
Jones, who signed a four-year, $160million contract extension with the Giants earlier this year, helped the team reach the Play-Offs after earning a wildcard spot in the NFC East with a third-place finish behind eventual Super Bowl finalists the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Dallas Cowboys.
This offseason has seen the arrival of a superstar quarterback in New York - but at the Jets. Aaron Rodgers joined the Jets from the Green Bay Packers in a blockbuster trade, bringing his four NFL MVP awards with him. Despite the 39-year-old's arrival, Jones says he's not unsettled by Rodgers. "I’m not worried about that,” he said with a smile, “just focused on what we’re doing here.”
