Pat Shurmur was on one phone welcoming the new Giants quarterback while at the same time Dave Gettleman was on another phone, reassuring the old quarterback that he is not on his way out, at least not yet.
The dueling calls were necessary because the Giants surprised the football world on Thursday by selecting quarterback Daniel Jones of Duke with the sixth pick in the N.F.L. draft, in the hope that he will eventually replace Eli Manning as the franchise quarterback.
The Giants, who made a bold selection last year when they chose running back Saquon Barkley with the second overall pick, generated much of the buzz of the first night of this year’s draft by taking Jones and two other players in the first round.
The Giants chose Dexter Lawrence, the hefty interior defensive lineman from Clemson with the No. 17 pick and traded up with the Seattle Seahawks to select the Georgia cornerback Deandre Baker, considered by many to be the best cover corner in the draft, with the 30th pick.
“We feel we got three guys who are going to impact this franchise for a long time,” Gettleman said.
But Jones was the choice that garnered the most attention and could come to define Gettleman’s tenure as general manager. The Giants wanted to make sure that Manning, the 38-year-old veteran who led the team to two Super Bowl titles, heard about it from them first.
Gettleman told Manning on the phone that he remained the starting quarterback and later told reporters that Manning was “fine” with the choice, even though it could hasten his departure and even ignite a quarterback controversy in the short term. Manning and Gettleman are both aware that, because the Giants drafted Jones so high — passing on the more pressing need for an elite pass rusher, in the process — there will be considerable pressure for Jones to take over before too long.
Whether that comes during a losing streak in 2019 with Manning struggling, at the start of the 2020 season or perhaps later, Gettleman would not say. But he made it abundantly clear how enamored he is with Jones, both for his mental acuity and his physical talent.
“I loved him on film,” Gettleman said. “I absolutely was in full-bloom love.”
But many of the Giants fans who went to MetLife Stadium to watch the draft did not share Gettleman’s passion for Jones, and vented their displeasure with boos when the pick was announced. Josh Allen, the fearsome edge rusher from Kentucky, was available when the Giants made their selection, and many fans were hoping the team would take him and perhaps wait until next year for a quarterback, when the crop of signal callers entering the draft is thought to be better.
Indeed, the Jacksonville Jaguars scooped up Allen with the No. 7 pick. The Giants could have drafted Allen at No. 6 and taken the chance that Jones would still be available when they chose again with the No. 17 pick. But when you are in love, sometimes the heart won’t wait.
“I was not willing to risk it,” Gettleman said, and added, “The kid is really talented, a really talented football player. The head makes him more better.”
Gettleman also skipped on Dwayne Haskins, the Ohio State quarterback that many feel has a better résumé and higher upside than Jones. The Washington Redskins, divisional rivals of the Giants, chose Haskins with the 15th pick.
Jones, a walk-on and three-year starter at Duke, is 6 foot 5, 220 pounds with the ability to throw accurately from the pocket and on the run. In his years at Duke, he was not statistically overwhelming. He had a .599 completion percentage and threw 52 touchdowns and 29 interceptions.
“You just can’t look at the raw numbers and say, ‘This guy can do it, he can’t do it,’” Shurmer said. “There’s reasons why a ball is complete or incomplete. I really wouldn’t share with you why that is, but I thought he was very productive.”
Shurmer also said that when he spoke to Manning after the pick was made, he told him that it was not his responsibility to teach Jones. His job will be to play well and keep Jones on the bench. For how long? Gettleman said it could be more than a year, and invoked Aaron Rodgers, who sat for three years behind Brett Favre after being chosen in the first round by Green Bay n 2005. A more likely outcome is that Jones is named the starter in 2020, or sooner.
When Jones does arrive to work, he will not be a stranger to Manning. Both quarterbacks played under David Cutcliffe in college. Cutcliffe, the Duke coach, was the coach at Mississippi when Eli Manning was there, and before that he was the quarterbacks coach for Peyton Manning at Tennessee, and remains close to both Mannings.
Jones has worked with the Mannings at Duke and at their passing camp in the off-season. Some even see Jones as another version of a Manning bother. But Jones noted that he must cut his own path to success.
“Understanding that I’m going to be myself and not try to be Eli,” he said, “and not try to be anyone but myself. Having confidence in who I am is going to be key to that process.”
Many Giants fans felt defense was a bigger need, and the team did address two areas of concern on that side of the ball. Baker was considered a shutdown cornerback at Georgia, even though he only had seven career interceptions in 35 games, including only two last year.
“It’s hard to get interceptions when you don’t get targeted that much,” he said.
Lawrence, the defensive tackle, is 6 foot 4, 344 pounds and was used mostly as a run stuffer in college. But he feels he can be effective on passing downs, as well, and the Giants agree. Lawrence had a foot injury that hampered him in college, but Gettleman said it was no longer an issue, his size notwithstanding.
“He’s fine,” Gettleman said. “He’s medically cleared.”
Lawrence said he grew up rooting for the Giants in North Carolina because of their great pass rushers, including Justin Tuck, Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora. Lawrence also played against Jones in A.C.C. conference play and, like Gettleman, was very impressed.
“I like him a lot,” Lawrence said. “He’s deceptively fast and his arm is accurate. I think he’s really special.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/26/sports/nfl-draft-new-york-giants-daniel-jones.html
2019-04-26 11:57:35Z
52780277366518
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar