Giants, Daniel Jones Not Worried About Respect from External Critics

No, Daniel Jones isn't a top-tier NFL quarterback yet, but he's also not as bad as some might have you believe.

One thing we know for certain: Daniel Jones, barring injury, will be the New York Giants quarterback for at least the next two years.

But as to how wise of a move that is, well, that’s where opinions vary. Former NFL head coach Herm Edwards, now with ESPN, doesn’t think as much about Jones as he does about Saquon Barkley. And former NFL running back Le’Veon Bell doesn’t even think Jones is that good, recently calling him a bottom-tier quarterback.

Good thing that outside opinions don’t matter to Giants head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen or the rest of the team for that matter.

“People definitely have a lot of questions, for sure,” said receiver Isaiah Hodgins. “I think he put a lot of the league on notice last year, so I think those conversations start to come up when you have good performances like he did.

“A lot of people were probably talking bad, and then he has the season that he had last year, and now people are trying to debate if he’s good or not if he’s top this or whatever. That’s going to come with performances like he’s had. I know he’s not worried about it (and) I know as a wideout room and as a team, we’re not either. We’re focused on what we can do to win games every week.”

Hodgins said before joining the Giants from the Bills, his perception of the former Duke star had similarities to Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who ranked No. 3 in The Athletic’s recent ranking of NFL quarterbacks.

“We knew he was a tall, strong quarterback,” Hodgins said. “We used to always talk about him and compare him to (Bills quarterback) Josh Allen. We knew he had the physical traits and stuff, and coming here, I was able to see the mental side and the preparation and work ethic. He’s the full package, and I think he’s a great quarterback, so I’ll ride or die about him.”

Still, the best Jones can seem to do regarding rankings—none of which matter to him, by the way, but are still interesting to read—is landing in the middle of the pack. The Athletic ranked Jones 19th, in the group described as “a legitimate starter but needs a heavier running game and/or defensive component to win” and in which “a lower volume dropback passing offense suits him best.”

That’s probably understandable, considering Jones finally had the best season of his career last year after being given stable and modernized coaching and having running back Saquon Barkley by his side for 16 of the 17 regular-season games the Giants played (both got the regular-season finale off after the Giants had clinched a postseason berth).

Despite his performance, there is still pressure on Jones to live up to the big four-year, $160 million contract he received in the off-season, pressure which Jones said would exist regardless of if he had gotten his big payday.

Hodgins said that Jones hasn’t changed since last year; he’s still the same hard-working leader who demands the best from himself and his teammates, a side that external critics don’t get a chance to see.

“I know one thing: he doesn’t worry about that, so that’s all credit to him,” Hodgins said. “Whether he has a good game or a bad game or people praise him or not, he keeps the same mindset of working every day, so that’s something that influences the entire locker room. That’s what you like to see from your quarterback.”

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