So here we are. almost of a month after the 2019 draft and I'm still trying to come up with a legitimate theory behind the Giants 6th overall draft pick. I mean here I am, a relatively new father, I got a beautiful little 9 month old daughter at home and a wife who could use a little break from time to time, and my mental real estate is still predominately occupied by the NY Giants and their 6th pick. At this point I've spent more time aggressively watching more youtube clips of Daniel Jones then I care to admit, trying to find some sort of moment where I can confidently say "that's my QB". Sure the kid is more athletic than Eli was coming out, but lets be honest, he's gonna be the same damn QB we already have in a league where my beloved Eli Manning's skill set is becoming ineffective.
Jones has the same "happy feet" pocket presence as Manning, same little grunting baby face, similar release, with a little more athletic ability, but likely because he almost 20 years younger.
Are they teaching Daniel Jones to be Eli Manning?
If the 2019 combine gave any indication at all, it was that players are bigger, stronger, and faster than ever before, specifically at the defensive line positions. In other words, NFL quarterbacks need to be able to run and avoid being lit up by 3 or 4 players whose job is dedicated to hitting the QB. The era of "pure pocket" passers is quickly fading while the era of smart running QBs is rapidly becoming the norm.
Drafting Daniel Jones with the 6th overall pick goes against what seems like the vast majority of Giants fans had planned. At this point, most of us bought into Dave Gettlemen's belief that Eli had a couple more years of good football left. The situation seemed perfect, build out our O-line, and defense through free agency and the 2019 draft, and use a couple 2019 draft picks in a deal to secure 2020 draft capital. I came up with the ultimate plan for the NY Giants to draft and trade there way into a decade long dynasty with several super bowl appearances.
I even adjusted and doubled down on the basic premise of my prediction when they traded OBJ to the Browns. (Never felt good about OBJ, the guy was a toxic diva to say the least...)
Dave Gettleman has done nothing but slowly crush my plan, and as a result, my dreams of the Giants becoming the new "patriots" of the next decade, once Brady retires. I wasn't too upset over the OBJ trade, the guy was toxic and was slowly ruining the Giant's culture. So when the Giant's traded him I thought, "ok that's fine" they're trying to establish a good culture, and who better than Eli Manning and Saquan Barkley to do that? Well that got squashed when they brought in Golden Tate, a good WR whose name made social media headlines with rumors about him having an affair with Russel Wilson's ex-wife, the prefect type of guy to help build positive culture right?
So after all the Gettleman shenanigans this off season, he takes Daniel Jones with the 6th overall pick in the draft, delivers a real kick in the nuts, and destroys our hope. Gettleman watches a few series of Daniel Jones at the senior bowl and falls in love with the kid?? so much that he tells the love story during a post draft interview?? Is this a joke?? This prick from Boston (Dave Gettleman) is making draft picks after falling in love at the senior bowl, just ignoring stats and history. He's the type of guy who say "I love you" after dating some crazy chick for a week, and all his friends(Giants fans) are left guessing wtf he's doing with his life.
It doesn't take much effort to find a sad reaction to the 6th overall pick from Giants fans, and it's nothing personal to Daniel Jones. The kid seems like a nice guy who tries hard and would make a great lawyer on wall street, all good things, but that's where it ends. Now we all have to sit and watch as our beloved Eli retires after what will likely be a losing season or two, while we wait without any excitement for his successor to take over. I pray that Daniel Jones can actually play ball at the NFL level, or that he shows us he sucks before the 2021 draft so we can have a shot at drafting Trevor Lawrence. Gettleman has left us all stunned, and guessing what the Giant's "plan" is. There's even talk about our beloved Eli riding the bench to start the 2019 season, and all we can do is wait, and hope that their aren't any more kicks to the nuts between now and the start of the regular season. Regardless of how this all plays out, I think the one thing has been revealed, and that is that you can't hire a Boston man to run the show the show in New York City.