Report: Ex-Giants Staffer Doesn’t Think Eli Manning Should Help Find Team’s Next QB

Manning said he'd be willing to help evaluate the team's next quarterback if asked.

New York Giants quarterbacks Eli Manning (10) and Daniel Jones (8) on the field for pregame warmups on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019, in East Rutherford. / Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com, NorthJersey.com via Imagn Content Services, LLC

When it comes to searching far and wide for their next franchise quarterback of the future, the New York Giants seem to be making no stops in achieving their biggest offseason goal. 

They’d be willing to go to great lengths to get the answer, including soliciting the respected opinions of one former quarterback who left an indelible mark on the team’s history: two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Eli Manning, who has remained active with the organization. 

Manning, acquired in a blockbuster draft-day trade in 2004 after then-general manager Ernie Accorsi became convinced without a shadow of a doubt that Manning would thrive as the Giants quarterback, offered to assist general manager Joe Schoen and the front office in evaluating the options ahead of this offseason if they asked him to. 

According to a report by the New York Post, a former team staff member involved in the search for Manning’s successor, which led to Daniel Jones, thinks that would be a bad idea.  

“Eli should have no bearing whatsoever on their next quarterback decision,” the former staffer told the Post. “If they are trying to do that, they’ve already messed it up. You have to evolve, not hold onto the past.”

Daniel Jones (Duke) was selected as the number six overall pick to the New York Giants in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft in Downtown Nashville. / Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

While Manning never had any bearing on the decision to draft Jones, the similarities between Jones and Manning in terms of personality, demeanor, and size weren't hard to miss.

Jones had a connection to Manning via their shared college coach, David Cutliffe, one factor that likely piqued their interest in him.

He also displayed some of the eerily similar personality traits as the four-time Pro Bowler, including his conversational mannerisms when dealing with questions and pressure from the media. 

Still, Jones was purely a modest gunslinger in his three years at Duke and only amassed 20+ touchdowns and got close to 3,000 passing yards once in that span.

The Giants fell in love with that "Manningness" of the young man instead of prioritizing his numbers and awareness on the field, and the results were mostly unfulfilling in the next six seasons. 

The failed prodigy to one of the game’s calmest elite quarterbacks would go 24-44-1 as a starter, finishing with a winning record and playoff berth just once in the 2022 season.

Like his college stats, he never passed 20+ passing touchdowns after his rookie year, and both injuries and a lack of steel in his nerves led to constant mistakes in the pocket that limited the Giant's offense.

Feb 28, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA;Miami quarterback Cam Ward (QB15) talks to the press during the 2025 NFL Combine at Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephanie Amador Blondet-Imagn Images / Stephanie Amador Blondet-Imagn Images

Jones became the apple of the Giant's eye after then-general manager Dave Gettleman was said to have become enamored with him following Jones’s 2019 Senior Bowl performance.

Interestingly, per the Post’s report, in the 2018 draft, the Giants were thought to be interested in Josh Allen, who eventually went to the Bills after the Giatns’ decision-makers couldn’t come to a consensus.

In 2019, the Giants were also strongly believed to want Justin Herbert in that draft, but Herbert went back to school, and the Giants pivoted toward Jones. 

Two regimes and six seasons later, the Giants must stop clinging to the past, claimed the unnamed former employee, and open up their options.   

They have two options in front of them: Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders. Both possess a good share of the physical and mental intangibles needed to succeed in the modern NFL and revitalize a lackluster offense.

Right behind those two players is Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart, who is projected to go in the second round and has ties to Manning. 

Dart not only attended the Manning Passing Academy, where he got to know the Mannings, but he also comes from Manning’s alma mater, Ole Miss, where he smashed many of Manning’s previous school records this past season.

While there isn’t any harm in asking Manning for his opinion, Schoen and Daboll need to trust their eyes and gut when deciding whether to pluck a quarterback prospect out of this draft. 

And if that means moving away from the golden era that Iron Man Manning brought to the franchise during his 16-year career and going in a completely different direction with a quarterback with a different style both on and off the field, then so be it.

---

Next: See All Our Draft Content Here

---

New York Giants On SI Social Media

• Follow and like us on Facebook.
• Submit your questions for our mailbag.
• Follow on Instagram.
• Check out the New York Giants on SI YouTube Channel.