There are wide-ranging opinions when it comes to what people think about New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones. The jury is still out on whether or not he can be their franchise quarterback, but he took a major step toward solidifying his standing in 2022.
Jones, who had the fifth-year option on his rookie contract declined in the offseason, responded with the best season of his career. New head coach Brian Daboll worked wonders with him, as he put Jones in a position to succeed despite less-than-ideal circumstances.
One person who is very high on Jones is Cris Collinsworth. During a recent appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd on FS1 and Fox Sports, Collinsworth made a wild comparison. He believes Jones is like Kansas City Chiefs star, Patrick Mahomes.
“People are going to scream when they hear this. He plays the game a little like Patrick Mahomes,” Collinsworth said when explaining what he sees in Jones.
That is certainly a bold prediction and Collinsworth is correct about how people will respond. Comparing Jones, who has one playoff win to Mahomes, who has two Super Bowl rings, certainly seems outrageous on the surface.
The Giants’ offensive line was shaky beyond star left tackle Andrew Thomas. Outside of running back Saquon Barkley, there were no dynamic weapons on the offense either. Despite, that Jones had a pretty strong season.
He had the lowest interception percentage in the NFL at 1.1 percent and completed a career-high 67.2 percent of his passes. The average depth of pass wasn’t very high, but Jones was able to put the ball where it needed to be.
The Giants’ passing offense ranked near the bottom of numerous categories, as Jones threw for only 3,205 yards and 15 touchdowns in 16 starts. But he made up for it with his legs, rushing for 708 yards and seven scores.
Most importantly, the team won games. New York went 9-7-1 in the regular season, earning a Wild Card berth. They defeated the Minnesota Vikings during Super Wild Card Weekend before getting blown out by the NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles.
The Giants did their best to close that gap this offseason as general manager Joe Schoen got to work upgrading the roster. Fresh off of a four-year, $160 million contract, Jones now has some new weapons around him to help elevate the offense.
The biggest one was landing tight end Darren Waller in a trade from the Las Vegas Raiders. There is optimism that he can become the go-to receiver for Jones to help elevate this Giants’ offense to another level.
