When it comes to Daniel Jones, the New York Giants find themselves in an interesting situation. Finally, their quarterback played up to, if not better than, expectations in 2022. When we look back and compare from last year to this year, Jones performance was nothing short of impressive. In 2021, he was denied the fifth-year option and was forced to play in a prove-it year. So that is exactly what he did.
Under new head coach Brian Daboll, he went from a 84.8 quarterback rating in 2021 to 92.5 in 2022. He also landed himself into the top ten conversations in a few areas. Among quarterbacks who had at least 350 dropbacks, he led the league with the fewest of interceptions, five. He was tied for fifth in pass completion percentage index with 112, and sixth in completion percentage, 66.7%. When throwing from play action, he had the second highest rating (103.3) in the league with the highest-pressure rate 43.9%, per Sports Info Solutions.
Jones got his team a playoff win for the first time since 2011, the last time the Giants won the Super Bowl. And he did all of this without a top receiver in the league. So, the question remains, does he deserve a $45 million per year contract, as it has been reported that he wants?
The answers lie in the film!
Exceeding expectations.
Before the 2022 season, the Giants were predicted to have about seven wins, per VegasSportsbook. They exceeded that by finishing the year with a 9-6-1 record. Jones set career-highs in completions (317), attempts (472), completion percentage (67.2), passing yards (3,205) and only five interceptions. On the ground, he finished with 708 rushing yards (5th) and seven rushing touchdowns (4th).
One of his most impressive statistics is his game winning drives. Throughout the year, he led the league and ended up finishing the season with five, (per PFR) tied for second most with Tom Brady and Justin Herbert.
It all started in Week 1 against the Tennessee Titans.
Season opener.
With eight minutes left in Week 1 against the Titans. The Giants are down by seven and are inside the Titans redzone. Jones drops back, forces a back shoulder throw to Barkley in the endzone leading to an interception.
Oof. The Giants had the ball inside the 10, but the @Titans get the pick vs Daniel Jones!
(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/NcKfx1gczb
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 11, 2022
Luckily, the Giants’ defense forced a punt and Jones had another chance to put his team back in the lead.
The best throw Jones made, after the interception, was a quick pass to Richie James while the Titans brought a blitz.
Then two plays later Barkley broke 33-yard run. This put the Giants into the redzone, which then allowed Daboll to make a great call catching the Titans defense off balance; after they once again brought their entire defense to stop Barkley.
A bootleg from 22 personnel, a typical run heavy look:
The Giants ended up with 78 rushing yards in the fourth quarter alone. Jones only threw for 33 yards and one touchdown and had a 79.4 passer rating.
Up until the interception, Jones was playing pretty well — he had a 100.8 passer rating. But Barkley stole the show with 164 rushing yards in the season opener.
In the end, Daboll knew how to get the most out of his players, and that is why the Giants got the win.
The next impressive Giants’ comeback came in Week 5 against the Green Bay Packers. This is where Jones really showed up.
Will the comeback king please stand up?
Against the Packers, Jones finished the game 21-for-27 for 217 passing yards, a 100.2 passer rating and 37 yards on the ground. This was his second 100+ passer game out of his six total in the regular season.
Jones dissected the Packers. defense and came back for a 27-22 victory. Just before the fourth quarter, Jones attacked the middle of the field after using a motion to understand the Packers defensive coverage.
Jones is really effective when passing over the middle. He finished with the sixth-most air yards (409) and eighth in middle DVOA with 45.3%.
In the fourth quarter against the Packers, Jones had as many rushes as he did completions, six. He knew when to roll out and he knew when to punch it up the gut. Jones does a great job of keeping head up and remaining patient with the ball in his hands. He trusts that his receivers will get open and puts it right on their chest once they do.
When rolling out of the pocket this season, Jones had the third highest IQR while moving, 119.5 and an 82.0% on target percentage.
But once again, it was another fantastic play drawn up by Daboll to get the ball into Barkley’s hands that allowed the Giants to get into the redzone.
So, when we really think about who should get credit for being the comeback king., it might be head coach Brain Daboll.
Giving credit where credit is due.
It would be unfair to say Daboll and Barkley were the sole reason for the Giants’ offensive success. Throughout the season when Daboll needed Jones to make a play, he did.
One of his best roll out passes came in the Baltimore Ravens game. There were six minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Giants were down by ten points.
The way that Jones had to manipulate his body in order to make this throw, was not easy. Another example came against the Indianapolis Colts:
You want arm talent? How about this throw from Daniel Jones while being dragged down?
This is purely based on eye test, but I feel like DJ has taken a jump arm strength wise (shows up consistently on all of the off platform throws he's made this year).#Giants #TogetherBlue pic.twitter.com/g94HoQoRjT— Dan Schneier (@DanSchneierNFL) January 2, 2023
The way the ball came out of Jones’ hands was just better than it had been over his past seasons.
DJ to D. Slay 🔥 The @Giants get on the board early!
📺: #NYGvsJAX on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/WfxxCNrfTZ pic.twitter.com/roenar7gmi— NFL (@NFL) October 23, 2022
Let’s not forget one of his best throws all season came in one of the most important moments of the Jones’ career in the NFC Wildcard game.
DANIEL JONES ACROSS HIS BODY!! pic.twitter.com/2h55JkJkT6
— Justin Penik (@JustinPenik) January 16, 2023
He was making these throws without a thousand-yard receiver. Darius Slayton led the team with 724 yards and Richie James (seventh round selection in 2018) had the second-most with 569 yards.
What should the Giants do?
Jones is seeking a long-term contract from the Giants, and after switching agents, a report came out that Jones was seeking a $45 million per year contract. To put that into perspective, that is the same amount of money per year that Patrick Mahomes is making and two million more than Josh Allen.
That amount of money is just absurd considering Jones has only had one good year. If Jones is just starting at that number, it’s still pretty high. At most, he should land a $30 million dollar contract, but that realistically shouldn’t happen until next year.
The question is if the Giants’ offense could play the same or better with someone else. In my opinion, the answer is yes, but it would likely cost them more in the long run.
The best approach the Giants should take is securing Saquon Barkley, who also took a big step forward this year, but we already were aware of his capabilities. Barkley just reaffirmed his dominance. Jones, for the first time, met expectations.
This is all because Daboll was able to get the best out of him, just like how Daboll also got the best out of Josh Allen when he was with the Buffalo Bills.
While Jones is likely to improve next season, especially with better weapons, it would be economical if the Giants locked in Jones with a lower price, but with him acquiring a new representative and expecting an unrealistic number.. he may not accept.
The club is better off making him prove his worth next season and putting a franchise tag on him.
