Even after a career year and a four-year, $160 million contract, debate surrounding New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones rages.
There are those who are dug in and just can’t accept that Jones is a talented, ascending dual-threat quarterback capable of winning championships.
In his recent NFC quarterback rankings, NFL Network’s Kyle Brandt put Jones in tier 4 alongside Justin Fields and Kyler Murray. They were below the likes of Jared Goff, Derek Carr, Kirk Cousins, and Dak Prescott.
Some still argued that was too high for Jones.
But Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka isn’t interested in hearing any of that. He previously coached Patrick Mahomes, who many would argue is the best quarterback in football, and believes Jones can eventually get to that level.
Jones is certainly better than Kafka ever was, the coordinator says.
“Daniel’s a high-level professional quarterback,” Kafka told Steve Serby of the New York Post. “There’s really no comparison between him and me, he’s way ahead of me.”
The major knock on Jones in 2022 is that he threw just 15 touchdowns.
While that was largely a result of the lacking talent around him — especially at the wide receiver position — critics still honed in on number and refused to let go. It was the only remaining statistic or analytic they could cling to so it was beaten like a dead horse.
In 2023, that will likely change. The Giants added dynamic tight end Darren Waller, who should quickly become Jones’ No. 1 target, and beefed up the wide receiver room. The additional speed and explosiveness, combined with the threat of Saquon Barkley out of the backfield, should open things up for Jones, who is more than capable of making every throw.
Still, Kafka refuses to set any sort of expectation for Jones or the offense.
“There’s no set number on (touchdown passes). Each week will be a little bit different,” Kafka said. “I think we just gotta build off of (last year), continue to refine our details and our fundamentals and get our guys in the best spot. We’ve stressed that, I think the players have bought into that, and so having the flexibility within our scheme to do that.”
Kafka may not want to say it, but we will: Jones and the Giants offense will be significantly better in 2023 and Jones will continue proving his critics wrong.
