Daniel Jones is in a make-or-break season as the New York Giants‘ starting quarterback. After a fruitless and dreadful 2023 NFL season that ended in Week 9 with a torn ACL, Jones is looking to prove himself as the Giants’ franchise quarterback.
Earlier this season, Jonese posted consecutive games of 20+ rushing yards and 2+ passing touchdowns. It was his third such streak of his career; he’s never done it in three straight games. And yet the Giants went 1-1 in those games.
Could we see the Giants shake up the QB depth chart at some point this season? Time will tell. Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito have seen spurts of NFL success and will await their opportunity.
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Both Lock and DeVito have starting experience, including in 2023. That amplifies the pressure on Jones, knowing there are proven quarterbacks behind him on the depth chart that can start if he struggles this season.
While Jones has had a solid career, including leading the Giants to the Divisional Round of the playoffs in 2022, there are still many questions about his ability. But he’ll need to eventually transcend being solid.
Running is a big part of Jones’ game, but that leaves many wondering about his ability to sit in the pocket, go through his progressions, and find an open receiver. Confounding Jones’ development is the Giants’ lack of talent at wide receiver. But Big Blue invested in first-round rookie Malik Nabers out of LSU.
Nabers has the opportunity to bring a dynamic element to New York’s offense that hasn’t been there in a long time.
The Giants drafting Nabers shows they still hope Jones can take that next step as a passer. This comes a year after they gave Jones a four-year, $160 million contract extension, with $92 million guaranteed. If he can’t take that next step with a receiver like Nabers, his time in New York could come to a close.
Jones started the first seven games of the season. He completed 62.5% of his passes for 1,442 yards and six TDs along with four interceptions. He also took 21 sacks and rushed 50 times for 184 yards.
Entering play Monday night, Jones owned a Pro Football Network QB+ Metric grade of 40.5 (D+), which ranked 27th among all quarterbacks.
Getting To Know Drew Lock
Second on the depth chart, Lock excelled for the Missouri Tigers and was drafted in the second round (42nd overall) by the Denver Broncos in the 2019 NFL Draft. Like Jones, he’s in his sixth NFL season.
Lock spent three seasons in the Mile High City. In 13 starts in 2020, Lock threw for just under 3,000 yards with 16 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
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In 2023, with Seattle, Lock came in relief of Geno Smith against the Giants on Monday Night Football and helped lead the Seahawks to a 24-3 win. Then, on Monday Night Football in Week 15 against Philadelphia, Lock started and threw a game-winning touchdown with 28 seconds left to lift Seattle to a 20-17 win.
This past offseason, Lock signed a one-year, $5 million deal with the Giants. Almost all of it is guaranteed.
Lock replaced Jones late in New York’s Week 7 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. He saw 12 snaps and completed three of eight passes for just 6 yards.
Getting To Know Tommy DeVito
DeVito was one of the more interesting stories of the 2023 season after playing in nine games and starting six for the Giants. DeVito went from living at his parents’ house to posting respectable numbers, completing 64% of his passes for 1,101 yards, eight touchdowns, and three interceptions.
His best performance came in Week 14 against the Packers on Monday Night Football, when he went 17 of 21 for 158 yards and a touchdown and added 71 rushing yards on 10 carries.
DeVito was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week and became the first starting quarterback in NFL history since the league began tracking starting quarterbacks in 1950 to complete 80% of his passes, rush for 70+ rushing yards, and have zero turnovers or sacks.
DeVito is currently on a two-year, $1.666 million deal with the Giants and will make $915,000 in 2024.