Greg Cosell has been evaluating quarterbacks for over three decades. He takes a granular approach to his assessments and rarely leaves any stone unturned.
In recent appearance on the podcast Inside the Birds, which covers the Philadelphia Eagles, Cosell talked extensively about the New York Giants and their embattled quarterback Daniel Jones.
While many critics continue to bash Jones as he heads into his fourth — and possibly final — season with the Giants, Cosell dwelled on the positive that he saw in reviewing Jones’ tape.
“Daniel Jones is a big kid, throws it well, has enough mobility. We know that he can run,” Cosell said.
“I always felt that I couldn’t get a great feel for Jones. I went back and looked in some detail about Jones…and I kinda liked what I saw. Just so that people understand — I know that the numbers weren’t great because the Giants didn’t have a great offense.
“We know all that. I’m just looking at the player. I know from evaluating quarterbacks you have to put them in a vacuum. You have to look at that player. You can’t just go by purely numbers. That can be a function of many, many other things.”
What exactly did Cosell see that encouraged him? Well, He believes Jones has the fundamental tools the new coaches can build on.
"There's no problem with [his] ability to throw the ball at the intermediate and downfield levels."#ITB's NFC East pre series with @gregcosell continues with a look at revamped #NYG. Cosell shares his tape study w/@caplannfl + @GeoffMosherNFL.
Full pod:https://t.co/r9V2NRFLnj
— Inside the Birds (@InsideBirds) July 21, 2022
“At his core, he’s a pocket quarterback who is at his best playing with timing and rhythm,” Cosell said. “And he showed that pretty well on third down. He was very poised in the pocket, he knew where to go with the ball.
“In fact, I watched all of his third down drop backs. He was really efficient in the pocket, decisive with his reads and throws and the new coaching staff, that’s probably pretty exciting for them. I think when you watch Jones’ tape, you kind of feel like there’s something to work with and we can make this guy a quarterback.”
We saw some of these things over Jones’ first three seasons. The losing, the turnovers and the lack of points unfortunately are the aspects that have formed the narrative.
