True Confessions: Why Daniel Jones Found it Awkward Having Eli Manning Around Last Year

Daniel Jones and Eli Manning got along great as teammates. But when the depth chart order changed, things got a little weird, which both Manning and Jones recently explained.

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Even before the Giants drafted him at No. 6 overall, quarterback Daniel Jones was looking forward to having a chance to learn from veteran Eli Manning.

"That'd be awesome to me," Jones told reporters last year at the NFL combine.

"As a competitor, you want to play, and I'm not going to say I wouldn't want to play—that wouldn't be how I feel. But the opportunity to be behind Eli, to learn and watch him day in and day out, how he carries himself, how he prepares, would be a tremendous opportunity for my growth and my development as a player."

But what Jones, and perhaps the Giants as well, weren't expecting was for then-head coach Pat Shurmur to give Manning a quick hook after dropping the first two games of the season.

With Manning sent to the bench and the keys to the offense handed over to Jones, then a rookie, it made for a somewhat awkward situation in which Jones might have, at times, been looking over his shoulder at the future Hall of Fame quarterback sitting behind him on the depth chart.

That awkwardness is something that Manning himself picked up on and mentioned during an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio last week during which he also praised Jones's growth during a turbulent rookie season.

“I think it'll be easier this year for him to kind of step up as that leader,” Manning said. “Last year it was probably awkward for him, with me being there and just kind of the whole dynamic. Me being gone, he is the quarterback; he is the guy.

“I think he's proven to be, to be tough and work hard. He’s done all the right things, keeping his head down and not saying more than he has to and working hard on and earning respect from teammates. And I think now he can elevate that where now he's in charge.”

Jones agreed with his former teammate's sentiments about the period of awkwardness.

“I think looking back, (it) was definitely, probably, a little bit awkward at times, certain times,” Jones said, before quickly adding, “But, I think we did a good job working together. I know I enjoyed working with him and certainly learned a ton from him.”

With Manning having ridden off into retirement, his leadership mantle is there for the taking. And while Jones takes the idea of becoming a team leader seriously, he was also quick to point out that there is room for more than one leader on the team.

"I feel the responsibility of being a leader, and that’s something I take seriously, but it's our team. I don't know if it's one guy's team—it’s not coach's team, it’s not my team, it's not Saquon (Barkley’s) team or, or anyone else's. It's our team," he said.

“Leadership wise, I'm going to do my best to take care of what I'm doing, be prepared, and play at a high level. Hopefully, that rubs off on guys. I’m trying to do my best to work with guys as best I can with what we're doing right now, to stay on top of our information, and make sure we're doing our best to be prepared when we can't get back.”