Judge commits to Jones as Giants’ franchise quarterback
The Giants needed a quarterback entering the 2018 NFL Draft. Dave Gettleman took running back Saquon Barkley No. 2 overall and stuck with Eli Manning.
The Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, the No. 32 overall pick in that draft, won the NFL’s MVP award last season. The Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen, the No. 7 overall pick in that draft, is an MVP contender this season.
The Giants’ Daniel Jones, selected No. 6 overall the following spring of 2019, on the other hand is one giant question mark as his second pro season winds to a close.
First-year Giants head coach Joe Judge, interestingly enough, made the strongest commitment yet to Jones on Wednesday anyway as this organization’s franchise quarterback into 2021.
“Daniel Jones is our quarterback,” Judge said when asked about next season’s plans.
Jones is also “on track” to return as the Giants’ starting QB on Sunday in Baltimore, Judge said, after looking good running on the field again on Christmas Eve.
Asked if he’d experienced an “ah ha moment” on Jones, Judge said: “I don’t know if there is an ah ha moment. To me, it’s a string of moments. Watching Daniel work, watching the respect he has in the locker room, watching him improve throughout this season. I think he’s demonstrated a level of toughness and leadership and knowledge on the field that gives us
confidence to put him out there and build with Daniel.
“I’m not going to point to one moment, but I can talk about (how) this entire season of this guy has definitely earned my respect,” Judge added. ”I made it very hard on him from the beginning in a lot of ways, and he hasn’t blinked.”
There are certainly pros and cons to Jones as a developing young quarterback: his teammates respect his ability and leadership, and he shows flashes of impressive play. On the other hand, he turns the ball over, lacks pocket awareness, doesn’t win consistently, and has only eight TD passes in 12 games this season.
So the fact is Jones’ long-term viability is still a question, whether or not Judge believes in him.
Look at Sunday’s opponent in Baltimore, on the other hand. Ravens coach John Harbaugh said he did indeed have an ”ah ha“moment with Jackson and it happened very early.
“I mean, I’d say we’re pretty much past that with Lamar,” Harbaugh said Wednesday. “I probably felt that after the first couple of games two years ago, the first year in 2018. But there is that moment, and then you go to work and try to get to where he and the rest of the team is kind of functioning at the level that teams function at that meet the standard that we’re talking about. We’re not there yet, but we’re certainly on our way there, I hope. That’s the plan.”
Harbaugh is talking about contending for a Super Bowl, which would be his team’s next step. But he has his quarterback, who is one of the most difficult players to defend at any position in the league.
Judge actually raved about Jackson’s talents on Wednesday more than the Giants coach has gushed about any opposing player this season.
He even said: “If we had a guy like this on our team, I’m sure we’d find a way to put the ball in his hands, too.”
The Giants had their chance in 2018. They took a running back instead.
Unfortunately, the Giants’ traditional approach to the quarterback position meant they never would have seriously considered Jackson, either, despite his Heisman Trophy and a second year as a Heisman finalist at Louisville.
The Ravens, if we’re being honest, didn’t fully understand what Jackson was at first, either. They actually drafted tight end Hayden Hurst No. 25 overall before trading back into the first round for Jackson at 32.
They eventually were smart enough to promote Greg Roman to offensive coordinator in 2019 and cater an unorthodox offense entirely to Jackson’s unique and dynamic skill set.
While Gettleman is a protege of former NFL GM Bill Polian, who said that Jackson would need to switch to wide receiver in the NFL, former Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome had other ideas.
“Certainly there are people out there that would pigeonhole those gifts and say that they’re not ‘conventional’ and that therefore they should try to be something else, but it’s not right,” Harbaugh said. ”Why would you want to take a skillset and put it under a basket and hide it? You wouldn’t want to hide it, you’d want to use it and make the most of it. I (also) think he’s been a pretty good pocket passer if you look at his career statistically.”
The Giants’ Judge has a deep appreciation for Jackson’s many talents, too.
“I think this guy is a unicorn in terms of how he can play and how he really makes explosive plays with his legs, along with the arm strength and the plays down the field he’s capable of making,” Judge said. ”When he gets going, you can tell ‘score’ is the only thing on his mind.”
Judge knows first-hand, since his Patriots last season lost 37-20 to Jackson’s Ravens, with Jackson completing 17-of-23 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown, and rushing 16 times for 61 yards and two more TDs.
“We played them last year and I told the team this morning, the thing I came away from that game saying was I didn’t realize he was that fast,” Judge said. “You see him on tape running away from guys, you know he’s fast, but when you see guys in person and you watch them athletically up close, that’s sometimes when you have to realize that this guy’s a lot better than I thought he was on tape. And you have a tremendous amount of respect for him on tape.”
Judge said of Jackson: “He’s got a wiggle to him at full speed that’s very rare. It’s kind of like trying to tackle Gumby. This guy can just change direction, it’s almost like his body moves in ways that you can’t simulate in practice.
“This guy is extremely fast, he hits that top gear in just a couple steps and at the same time he can stop on a dime and change directions,” the Giants coach continued. “You’ve got to prepare as best as you can with your team to simulate those cutbacks and that acceleration. There’s not a lot of guys like this.”
Judge still believes in Jones’ ability to lead the Giants’ franchise back to respectability, but Jones still has a long way to go to validate his coach’s belief — and to instill anything close to the fear in opposing defensive coordinators that Jackson does for the Ravens.