Maybe the NFL doesn’t have to wait another generation to see the next Manning family quarterback.
Cooper Manning’s teenage son already is creating football buzz, and his younger brothers, two-time Super Bowl winners Peyton and Eli, both have young sons.
But Hall of Fame talent evaluator Gil Brandt sees Manning genes in Duke’s Daniel Jones, who is expected to be picked in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
“I. Love. Dan Jones,” Brandt said on a teleconference for Sirius XM NFL Radio. “I have to say this carefully: When you watch him and you go back (20) years and watch Peyton Manning, you are watching the same guy. He’s athletic. He doesn’t have a rocket for an arm, but neither did Peyton. Very smart."
NFL Draft 2019: Giants could be taking huge risk on Duke’s Daniel Jones | ‘Is this as good as he’s going to be?’
Ex-NFL quarterbacks Dan Orlovsky and Phil Seems studied Duke's Daniel Jones and critique his skills and personality going into the NFL Draft. Former NFL general manager Charley Casserly is a big fan of Jones.
Jones started out the pre-draft process as a fringe first-round pick. His stock has steady climbed since he won MVP honors at the Senior Bowl.
The Giants drafted the last two Senior Bowl MVPs (Davis Webb and Kyle Lauletta).
When the Giants acquired the No. 17 pick in the Odell Beckham trade, Jones seemed to have a natural landing spot. But NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah just pegged Jones to the Giants with the No. 6 pick, where the more popular projections are Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins or a defensive standout.
“I just think stylistically how they want to play, having a long track record of having played there at Duke versus maybe Haskins with the one year," Jeremiah said, “I just think that kind of falls in line more with the Giants.”
And yet Jones is Jeremiah’s fourth-ranked quarterback in the class. Giants general manager Dave Gettleman’s cardinal rule for drafting: Don’t reach for need or it will be a disaster every time.
“When you watch Jones play and the things he does, I think he can play an efficient game (for) a team that’s going to build around his defense going forward,” Jeremiah said. "I think you’ll see that with the Giants. We’ve seen it reflected in the Odell Beckham trade.
“I think the more conservative, efficient approach offensively, that to me fits with Daniel Jones’ style."
Duke coach David Cutcliffe, who is considered one of the top quarterback mentors at any level of football, was Peyton’s quarterbacks coach at the University of Tennessee. Eli visits Duke each offseason to train under Cutcliffe’s eye.
It actually creates a slippery slope: Would Jones be a first-round on his own, without any ties to Cutcliffe? Some ex-NFL quarterbacks analyzing Jones worry he already has reached his ceiling.
Former NFL general manager Charley Casserly scoffed at the idea that the Manning family ties will lift up Jones. But the words of Brandt, who was the vice president of player personnel for the Cowboys from 1960-88 and is considered a godfather of modern scouting, illustrate how tough the two are to separate.
“He had an opportunity to have a full scholarship to Princeton,” Brandt said of Jones. "He said, ‘No, I’m better (at football) than that. I want to walk-on at Duke.’ He completed 60 percent of his passes but they didn’t have any great receivers there to catch the ball.
“He had an unbelievable workout a month or so ago. A lot of people have turned to like him.”
Ryan Dunleavy may be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy. Find our Giants coverage on Facebook.
https://www.nj.com/giants/2019/04/gil-brandt-to-giants-nfl-draft-dukes-daniel-jones-like-watching-the-same-guy-as-young-peyton-manning.html
2019-04-20 11:01:00Z
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