It’s no secret by now that the New York Giants were seeking to move on from quarterback Daniel Jones in this year’s NFL draft. They attempted to move up into the top three but could not knock any of the teams selecting there off their respective spots.
Instead, they took what the football gods gave them and selected LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers with the No. 6 overall pick.
Jones, who is still rehabbing from the ACL surgery that ended his 2023 season after six games, told reporters on Thursday that he wasn’t a fan of the Giants trying to replace him but was ‘fired up’ about the player they ended up picking in the first round.
Daniel Jones said he wasn’t “fired up” on draft night knowing the Giants might take a quarterback. He said he was fired up when the pick was WR Malik Nabers. pic.twitter.com/ljLAOl7wJv
— Paul Schwartz (@NYPost_Schwartz) May 23, 2024
Jones has been at this game for six summers now and knows that he can only control what he can control. He’s simply going to go out and do his job at camp this year.
“I’m focused on playing the best football I can play… It’s part of it, but I’m fired up we got Malik and I’m looking forward to getting to work,” he said. “Fired up to get Malik. I watched some of his tape in college and he’s a dynamic player.”
Jones took the field at the Giants OTAs on Thursday. He participated in 7-on-7 drills and is progressing. He should be close to being ready for training camp, which opens in a few months.
“He looks good. We’re not putting him in some team stuff, but he’s making progress so that’s why we got him in seven on seven,” head coach Brian Daboll said of Jones. “We’ll take it day-by-day and when he can do more, we’ll put him in more.”
Asked he’ll be ready for Week 1 of the regular season when the Giants host the Minnesota Vikings, Jones was fairly confident he’ll be available.
“I don’t have any doubt about it,” Jones said.