Biggest Burning Question for New York Giants Ahead of NFL Draft

No, it's not who the Giants will draft.

QB Daniel Jones (8) and head coach Brian Daboll / Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports

 

With less than three weeks until the NFL Draft, teams are beginning to get a sense of what’s going to happen when they’re on the clock starting on Thursday night. And while that question seems to be on every New York Giants fan's mind these days, NFL.com's Nick Shook believes there is an even bigger burning question looming over Big Blue.

“Is the clock ticking on [quarterback] Daniel Jones—and [head coach] Brian Daboll, too?”

Let's start with Jones, who is about to enter Year 2 of his four-year, $160 million deal signed last off-season.

Notes Shook: "Jones did nothing to inspire confidence in his long-term viability in 2023, and while Schoen isn’t giving any hints about what the Giants might do with the sixth overall pick in this year's draft, it’s not unrealistic to see him pulling the plug on the No. 6 selection from 2019, drafting a quarterback and hitting reset on the position.”

We agree—what Schoen does in this draft, and in particular if he takes a quarterback in the first round, will be very telling as to how the organization really feels about Jones's long-term future.

But for the time being, Jones is going to be on the roster with the "expectation" of being the starter once healthy. And if he's not healthy, the job will go to backup Drew Lock. As for any rookies they might draft, there's a good chance the kid sits for a year while Jones and/or Lock play out the string.  

Jones didn’t have the greatest circumstances last season in the games he was healthy for. However, he simply didn’t look good when he did play. Jones also suffered another neck injury and a season-ending ACL tear in November.

It’s his second neck injury in three seasons and his second season-ending injury since 2021. While his play is of concern, his health is as well, having played just one fully-healthy season in five years. 

Again, Jones will be the starter once he returns from injury, but if the season tanks early, how long until the Giants pull the plug on him to avoid putting him at risk for the injury guarantee in his contract next year? 

As for Daboll, who is entering his third season (the first head coach to get more than two seasons since Tom Coughlin), the clock shouldn’t be ticking right now. 

After an overachieving 2022, the Giants plummeted to 6-11, with Daboll doing his best to keep the locker room together. There were reports of friction between Daboll and former defensive coordinator Wink Martindale after the season, but that's all in the past. After the dust settled on that, Daboll found a new defensive coordinator in Shane Bowen.

This is a pivotal year for the Giants, who need to show progress after taking a step back last year. The defensive side of the ball has solid pieces in place, especially along the defensive line. Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Dexter Lawrence, and Bobby Okereke are a solid core. Adding in cornerback Deonte Banks and safety Jason Pinnock on the backend means the Giants are a few pieces away from having another impressive defensive unit. 

The offense needs a lot of work, with only a few pieces to work with. Left tackle Andrew Thomas, center John Michael Schmitz, and wide receivers Wan’Dale Robinson, Darius Slayton, and Jalin Hyatt will all have to contribute to get this unit up to speed.

Of course, add in whoever they draft at No.6 overall, and the Giants could have a better offense than last year.

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