New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley is excited to see what fellow top-10 pick Daniel Jones does in-game.
The New York Giants have had top-10 picks in back-to-back drafts, using them on superstar running back Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones, who they hope will become their next franchise quarterback when Eli Manning calls it a career.
The preseason will be the first opportunity for Giants fans to see Jones play, and they are less than a week away from their opening game against the New York Jets (Aug. 8, 7 p.m. ET).
Barkley told the media (per Giants.com) that he is excited to see what Jones does in-game action.
“DJ, he’s a player. I know you guys saw that dime over there to Perk [Paul Perkins], who made an unbelievable catch, but you can see he’s getting a lot more comfortable, he’s understanding the offense a lot more…Like I said, I’m excited to see—I know we play soon with our preseason game, and I’m excited to see him in live action.”
Jones’s practice performance has also caught the eye of head coach Pat Shurmur, which is always a good sign. Granted, it is training camp, so his performances should be taken with a grain of salt, but it’s still better, obviously, to draw positive reviews.
Barkley knows what it’s like to enter a season with the pressures of being a top draft pick, although he had to step and produce on day one (which he did, being named offensive rookie of the year.). Jones, on the other hand, will be asked to sit behind Manning for at least part of his rookie year, if not the entire season.
The Giants selection of Jones was panned both because of the lack of production he showed at Duke, and the presence of Dwayne Haskins still available at the sixth pick. However, several teammates have been impressed by Jones so far, including Golden Tate, who loves Jones’ arm.
Ultimately, it will be his play on the field that will determine whether Dave Gettleman was right about Jones, but he has shown signs of being an effective quarterback during practice. The next step will be doing it against defenses he has not seen.
