Giants QB Daniel Jones Has Teammates' Backing Ahead of Critical Season

Jones has left a positive impression on new and returning teammates this spring.

East Rutherford, NJ -- Daniel Jones and head coach Brian Daboll at the NY Giants Mandatory Minicamp at their practice facility in East Rutherford, NJ. / Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones might have a ways to go before convincing some within the team's fan base that he can be a functional quarterback, but when it comes to his teammates, Jones is in a good place.

Jones, who is entering his sixth season with the team, has been hard at work in his recovery from a torn ACL suffered last season. He was held out of team drills during the spring, but he recently held a passing camp for his teammates in the Charlotte, North Carolina area, where he is from.

The camp drew over a dozen of his teammates who are fully invested in boosting the Giants' offense from among the league’s worst to new heights.

Before that, Jones was drawing rave reviews from his teammates.

“Man, he's probably the biggest work ethic guy I know,” receiver Jalin Hyatt told reporters this spring. “He is the first guy in the building. I don't even know when he gets here, maybe 5:30. He stays here forever and is the last guy to leave. That's what you want in a quarterback.

“When your quarterback comes in here, he's the first guy in the building, he’s the last guy out, it just shows how much he respects this, how much he respects this team, and how much he wants to improve and do whatever he has to do. We have so much confidence in him. So much faith in him.”

• RELATED: Brian Burns Lauds Giants' "Cool Dude" Daniel Jones

Running back Devin Singletary, who signed with the Giants this off-season, is also a fan. 

“Man, I’m a football head, so I watch a lot of football,” Singletary told John Schmeelk on the Giants Huddle podcast. 

“It had jumped (out) to me what he can do as far as him being athletic. What really, I would say – I was like ‘ahhh’ – when I got here was when I saw him throw the ball.

“Like, his touch and his accuracy. I’m like, ‘Alright. This is why they call him Danny Dimes.’ That’s what really stood out to me.”

The Giants reportedly were trying to trade up in this year’s draft for quarterback Drake Maye, who went to the Patriots with the third overall pick. 

Rather than reach for the second name on their list, the Giants brass decided to add to Jones’s arsenal by selecting wide receiver Malik Nabers, who carries the potential to be the team’s first true No.1 receiver since Odell Beckham, Jr.

Singletary, who has led every NFL team in rushing that he’s been a part of, was signed by the Giants after they lost Saquon Barkley in free agency to the Eagles. 

• RELATED: How Giants QB Daniel Jones Can Win Over Critics

While Singletary has never been the high-volume back that Barkley has been when healthy, he comes on a more cost-effective contract (three years, $16.5 million) and has a better career success rate in picking up the majority of the needed yardage on each down in both the passing and rushing games.

Jones’s teammates have rallied around him as he looks to prove to the Giants’ brass that they didn’t make a mistake in signing him to a four-year, $160 million contract last offseason. 

The hope is that Jones can stay healthy and get back to resembling the quarterback he was in 2022 when he took the Giants to their first postseason run since 2016 and their first postseason win since 2011. 

---

• Follow and like us on Facebook.
• Submit your questions for our mailbag.
• Follow Patricia Traina on Instagram.
• Check out the Giants Country YouTube Channel.