New York Post

OC Shula has raves for Jones

- By GREG JOYCE

In so many words, Mike Shula had to say it at least three times in a short span Friday: It’s still early.

But after seeing the way Daniel Jones unleashed a perfect 50yard pass down the sideline to Paul Perkins on Thursday, the Giants offensive coordinato­r was just one of many still gushing about the rookie a day later.

“To hit a halfback like that down the field was pretty impressive for any quarterbac­k, rookie or veteran,” Shula said.

“DJ, he’s a player,” Saquon Barkley added. “I know you guys saw that dime over there to Perk, who made an unbelievab­le catch.”

“It was outstandin­g,” Pat Shurmur said. “He’s made excellent throws in every practice, and that was evidence to me that he has the arm to play in this league. We sort of knew that before we picked him.”

Even though it is just training camp, Jones has quieted a lot of the doubts that circulated when the Giants drafted him with the No. 6 pick in April. While plenty of draft pundits questioned his arm strength, it has looked just fine throughout practices.

“There are certain ways you throw deep balls to get the ball completed, and he’s got a much better feel for that,” Shula said. “The other thing too is just trusting the guys. Sometimes he wants to be so perfect that he was trying to, for lack of a better phrase, catch it for those guys. Instead of saying, ‘Hey, they’re fast, they can go get it,’ just air it out there and throw it.”

➤ Shurmur was non-committal about how many quarterbac­ks he plans to carry on the 53-man roster, but if he keeps three again, the odd man out will be either

Kyle Lauletta or Alex Tanney. Lauletta, the 2018 fourth-round pick who took a few snaps during a blowout in Week 14 last year, could be auditionin­g for all 32 teams during preseason action.

“I’d love for him to make our team or somebody else’s,” Shurmur said. “For him to make somebody else’s team, when he’s out there, 31 other teams are watching him perform. That gives you the best chance.”

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