New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman is reportedly a big fan of Daniel Jones and could select him high in the draft.
The New York Giants passed on a quarterback last year, drafting Saquon Barkley instead. While that decision will be debated for years, the fact remains that the team needs to draft Eli Manning’s successor sooner rather than later.
The team has been linked heavily to Dwayne Haskins, who they met with. Moreover, a potential trade for Josh Rosen may not seem as likely as it once was, but it’s still a possibility. However, general manager Dave Gettleman might be leaning another direction.
According to SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano, Gettleman is enamored with Duke quarterback Daniel Jones. Not only is he planning on picking him, multiple sources told Vacchiano that they expect Gettleman to take Jones at six as opposed to risking waiting for him to drop to their 17th overall pick.
“That’s their guy,” one source told Vacchiano. “They love him and they have for a while. I can’t imagine they’ll wait until 17. He’s not likely to last that long.”
Jones had pedestrian numbers in college, putting up 8,201 yards on 59.9% passing in three seasons. He produced a 52:29 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Compare that to Haskins, who 4,831 yards on 70% passing and a 50:8 TD:INT ratio in his only year as a starter and it’s easy to understand why fans would be disappointed with this decision.
Jones does have a connection to Eli Manning. David Cutcliffe was the head coach at Ole Miss when Manning played there. However, it’s certainly valid to question whether that connection should be enough to overcome what is a massive difference in production between Jones and other top college quarterbacks.
It should be noted that a lot of speculation happens in the final hours leading up to the draft, and Gettleman runs a tight ship ensuring that nobody really knows what his plans are. One source did tell Vacchiano that it is more likely the Giants use the sixth pick on a defensive player rather than taking a quarterback.
Fans will know what Gettleman’s plans are soon. Whether or not fans are happy with the picks on Thursday remains to be seen.
