Fantasy Index

header banner img
OUR FANTASY BASEBALL MAGAZINE IS BACK! PRE-ORDER NOW
Win here.

Around the NFL

Daniel Jones

Hard to feel good about Giants pick

The Giants talked all offseason about their commitment to Eli Manning. So it's a little odd that they proceeded to draft a quarterback at No. 6 overall. A smokescreen? Or simply an indication that they believe they can keep the good times going by transitioning seamlessly from Manning to a guy with a lot of the same qualities.

Jones was developed at Duke by David Cutcliffe, a coach known for his work with Peyton Manning at Tennessee ...and Eli at Mississippi. He's a smart guy (37 on the Wonderlic) who was originally headed to Princeton before walking on at Duke. At the combine he measured 6-foot-5 and 221 pounds...same as Eli.

Athletically, it's not a perfect comparison. Whereas Eli didn't run at all in college, Jones was a lot more mobile. In three seasons starting for Duke he ran for 1,323 yards and 17 TDs. He's no Kyler Murray, but he won't be glued to the pocket (like the other first-rounder, Dwayne Haskins, who makes Manning look mobile).

The biggest concern with Jones is that in college he tended to settle for short, safe reads (and even then he completed under 60 percent of his passes). Some of that had to do with the talent around him, or lack thereof. But it's not a profile that's yielded great NFL success.

In the last 20 years, there have been 56 quarterbacks drafted in the first round. The guys who averaged a lower yards per attempt in their final year of college than Jones -- well, it's not pretty.

FIRST-ROUND QUARTERBACKS, FINAL YEAR OF COLLEGE
YearPkPlayerSchoolComAttPctYdsYPA
20191Kyler MurrayOklahoma26037769.0436111.57
20181Baker MayfieldOklahoma28540470.5462711.45
20122Robert Griffin IIIBaylor29140671.7429310.57
20111Cam NewtonAuburn18528066.1285410.19
20152Marcus MariotaOregon30444568.3445410.01
200525Jason CampbellAuburn18827069.6270010.00
201422Johnny ManzielTexas A&M30042969.941149.59
20143Blake BortlesCentral Florida25938267.835819.37
20063Vince YoungTexas21232565.230369.34
20051Alex SmithUtah21431767.529529.31
20044Philip RiversNorth Carolina State34848372.044919.30
201432Teddy BridgewaterLouisville30342771.039709.30
200018Chad PenningtonMarshall29243367.440069.25
201025Tim TebowFlorida21331467.828959.22
20071JaMarcus RussellLouisiana State23234267.831299.15
201915Dwayne HaskinsOhio State37353370.048319.06
200411Ben RoethlisbergerMiami (Ohio)34249569.144869.06
20021David CarrFresno State30847664.742999.03
20091Matthew StaffordGeorgia23538361.434599.03
20161Jared GoffCalifornia34152964.547198.92
200610Matt LeinartSouthern California28343165.738158.85
201316EJ ManuelFlorida State26338768.033978.78
20095Mark SanchezSouthern California24136665.832078.76
20121Andrew LuckStanford28840471.335178.71
20037Byron LeftwichMarshall 33149167.442688.69
20183Sam DarnoldSouthern California30348063.141438.63
201710Patrick MahomesTexas Tech38859165.750528.55
201626Paxton LynchMemphis29644366.837768.52
201832Lamar JacksonLouisville25443059.136608.51
20172Mitchell TrubiskyNorth Carolina30444768.037488.38
201222Brandon WeedenOklahoma State40856472.347278.38
20151Jameis WinstonFlorida State30546765.339078.37
201810Josh RosenUCLA28345262.637568.31
200818Joe FlaccoDelaware33152163.542638.18
20041Eli ManningMississippi27544162.436008.16
20101Sam BradfordOklahoma396956.55628.14
200524Aaron RodgersCalifornia20931666.125668.12
20031Carson PalmerSouthern California30948963.239428.06
20162Carson WentzNorth Dakota State13020862.516517.94
201712Deshaun WatsonClemson38857967.045937.93
200917Josh FreemanKansas State22438258.629457.71
20011Michael VickVirginia Tech8716154.012347.66
20023Joey HarringtonOregon18632257.824157.50
200722Brady QuinnNotre Dame28946761.934267.34
200422J.P. LosmanTulane25142259.530777.29
20128Ryan TannehillTexas A&M32753161.637447.05
20083Matt RyanBoston College38865459.345076.89
201112Christian PonderFlorida State18429961.520446.84
20118Jake LockerWashington18433255.422656.82
20196Daniel JonesDuke23739260.526746.82
200322Rex GrossmanFlorida 28750357.134026.76
20187Josh AllenWyoming15227056.318126.71
201110Blaine GabbertMissouri30147563.431866.71
200319Kyle BollerCalifornia22542153.428156.69
200611Jay CutlerVanderbilt27346259.130736.65
200232Patrick RamseyTulane25644957.029356.54

Jay Cutler (also playing for a lesser college team) had a credible professional career. Josh Allen might turn out great for Buffalo. But the other quarterbacks down in that area? They went bust quickly, and none of them were selected as early as Jones.

Fans of the pick, and Giants GM Dave Gettleman presumably, can point to Matt Ryan, who wasn't much better in this regard and went on to an excellent pro career. But the vast majority of passers in this area, from Harrington to Quinn to Losman on down, would not be selected again with first-round picks. And the Giants took Jones at No. 6.

This is the pick that will determine Gettleman, and the Giants', future over the next 5-10 years. They'll be bucking some pretty unfavorable odds if it works out.

--Andy Richardson

Fantasy Index