Amid Daniel Jones' early struggles, Giants can't be afraid to give reps to Drew Lock

EAST RUTHERFORD – It’s still early in training camp, so it’s not time for anything drastic just yet. It takes some players a year, maybe more, to work their way back from a torn up knee. Daniel Jones had his surgery eight months ago. And don’t discount that neck injury, the second of his career, which sidelined him an unrelated three weeks.  

Rust is expected for the Giants quarterback — an excuse, sure, but a justified one. Maybe, just maybe, more time will transport Jones back to the player who led the Giants to that improbable playoff victory in Minnesota two years ago.

Or maybe this is just the player Jones is now.

Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen must be ready for that reality and turn to Drew Lock if so.

The Giants offense has been a big blue embarrassment since they drafted Jones in 2019. They ranked 25th, 32nd, 16th and 30th the last four years in DVOA. They ranked 31st, 31st, 18th and 30th in points per game. Inept offensive line play and a lack of any legitimate playmakers contributed to the failures. This year, though, is different. 

Schoen spent this offseason retooling the front five. They (Andrew Thomas, Jon Runyan Jr., John Michael Schmitz, Greg Van Roten, Jermaine Eluemunor) aren’t a top-five group, but the best the Giants have had in some time. Rookie phenom Malik Nabers headlines a new face of playmakers. Wan’Dale Robinson and Jalin Hyatt each appear to have taken steps forward. The reliable Darius Slayton is there, too.

It’s been a relatively common occurrence through the Giants' first five on-field camp practices to see receivers running open behind the secondary. That could be (probably is) an indictment on an unproven and questionable secondary, but the protection is also affording the quarterback the time to find open receivers and take advantage. That’s especially noteworthy considering Kayvon Thibodeaux, Brian Burns, and Dexter Lawrence make up the pass rush. They’re good.

This usually leads to highlight-filled practices generating enormous hype for the coming year. For the Giants, though, it’s an equally-common occurrence to see Jones simply missing his wide-open guys.

Arm strength was never a problem for Jones early in his career. If anything, he overshot guys. He’s consistently been underthrowing players this summer. Nabers will get behind Cor’Dale Flott or Deonte Banks, only to have to run back for the ball, allowing them back into the play. The same goes for Hyatt. Accuracy is also an issue. There’s a clear point of emphasis from Daboll to push the ball ever since he yanked the play calling from Mike Kafka. You’ll see more incompletions for that reason. Jones, though, has missed backs in the flat and receivers short near the sideline at an alarming rate.

Tuesday’s practice was undeniably the worst day for the offense and Jones. He finished five of 14 passing. Burns and Nick McCloud dropped interceptions. He missed Hyatt open deep for a would-be big gain. He completed a pass to a wide open Robinson over the middle, but the throw took the slot receiver to the ground when the play presented an ample opportunity for yards after the catch.

Jones’ final period of practice featured an 11-on-11 scrimmage against the starting defense. The offense ran eight plays. They gained yards on one of them – a short pass in the flat to Hyatt. Daboll was observed screaming in frustration earlier in practice – sounds that echoed to the media some 80 yards away.

Playing quarterback is a double-edged sword – you often receive all the praise when things go well, and all the blame when they’re not. Jones received unfair criticism for offensive struggles in the past when, far too often, there was little he could do because of an incompetent supporting cast. That, though, has not been the case this summer.

The quarterback has time. The quarterback has receivers open. He’s not making the plays. The offense is struggling because of Jones, not in spite of him. That’s what’s alarming.

Jones and the Giants are off on Wednesday. Jones took every first-team rep in the days before and that will likely continue when they return to the field on Thursday. If Jones keeps struggling, though – especially in the joint practices on Monday and Tuesday with the Lions –  the Giants’ brain trust must strongly consider a shakeup.

The Giants replaced Tyrod Taylor with Drew Lock this offseason. The fact they signed him and not Gardner Minshew or Jacoby Brissett tells you the goal was to find Jones a backup – not competition. That looked to be the case in the spring. Lock (23 career starts) is a serviceable insurance policy, he is not a starter, and that was evident during mostly up-and-down days running the first-team offense in organized team activities and minicamp (Jones didn’t participate in team drills).

But Daboll’s offense looks like it’s working – guys are open. It’s not executing in large part because the ball isn’t getting to those players. If Jones can’t deliver it then the Giants owe it to themselves and the rest of the players on this roster to see if Lock can. 

It hasn’t been entirely bad this summer for Jones. He’s hit Hyatt and Nabers for a couple of long gains. There’s simply far more bad than good. Those inconsistencies are clearly starting to wear thin on Daboll, whose temperament isn’t a nurturing one.

About the only thing going Jones’ way is the fact Lock hasn’t fared much better with the second unit. There’d be a full-blown controversy if he were. There’s a difference between throwing to Isaiah Hodgins and Nabers, though. It’s reaching the point where the Giants need to see if Lock can hit the plays Jones keeps missing – no matter what contract they gave the latter two years ago.

You don’t want to overreact. Again: There is still something to Jones working his way back from knee surgery. The underthrows could be from him not totally trusting his knee in his throwing base. He might be processing a touch slower because the last time he worked team drills was before he injured himself in Las Vegas.

But the moment the Giants believe their offense can function more effectively with someone else they must give that someone a shot.