Daniel Jones Reflects on Growth Over Past Year

What a difference a year has made for New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones.

This time last year, Jones was on a mission to earn the trust of a brand new general manager and coaching staff that had jointly decided to decline his option year on his rookie deal. And if that wasn't bad enough, he faced having to learn his third offensive system since being drafted sixth overall in 2019, all the while doing so with what turned out to be a porous offensive line and a mostly subpar supporting cast.

But Jones, the silent yet gritty one who prides himself on rising to a challenge, went to work, turning in not only his first fully healthy season as a pro but his best one, statistically speaking. That helped solidify his relationship with a coach and general manager that came in with no prior connection to him, so much so that the leadership duo declared Jones their starter for the foreseeable future, giving him a four-year contract worth $160 million.

"Yeah, last year at this time, you are trying to learn everything for the first time," Jones said Monday as the team opened its off-season program. "There's a lot of information, a lot of early memorization, the basic information of the system and kind of learning the alphabet, learning the first step."

This year, Jones is as secure in his position as the Giants quarterback as ever. He has a good understanding of the playbook and has his position coach (Shea Tierney) and offensive coordinator (Mike Kafka) back for a second season.

He's also been given some exciting new weapons that are being counted upon to help take the league's 18-ranked passing offense to new heights, such as tight end Darren Waller and receivers Parris Campbell and Jamison Crowder.

That trio will join holdovers, including tight end Daniel Bellinger, receivers Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard, and running back Saquon Barkley--many of whom, along with the new guys, have joined Jones around the country when he's held passing camps, further stoking the fifth-year quarterback's excitement for the year ahead.

"They all bring something different," Jones said. "They all bring a certain skill set that we'll look to use the best we can, and from my perspective, I'm trying to learn them, to get on the same page to communicate, hear how they see things, how they want to run certain routes, how they see themselves getting open and then work through it so that we are seeing it the same way and moving forward together."

Along with the new talent will come new wrinkles and concepts for the offense, which has an eye on becoming more explosive in the big-play department.

"You're not going through day one cadence in the quarterback meeting room or maybe some installation of some basic plays," Daboll said. "You have a good feel for what the quarterback feels comfortable with, and now it's adding new wrinkles here, and there are things that you study in the off-season.

"But the language and the terminology, he has that down. You jump into some other things, maybe some technique things, maybe in new plays, maybe some things you saw when you broke it down at the end of the season and the past few weeks."

Jones agreed.

"This year, obviously, we’ve got a little bit of a jump start there, knowing the system, but you're always learning, and you're always adapting, seeing what's new, helping the newer guys learn," he said.

With the draft fast approaching, it is possible that the Giants will add additional pieces to the offense as they continue their mission to build around Jones.

"It's tough to say where we'll end up," Jones said of the offense. "I think something Dabs has talked about since he got here is we're always growing and we're always evolving, adapting, and how it looks today will be different than how it looks a week from now and a week later and as we get through the off-season program.

"We’re always adding stuff, taking things out, and adjusting here and there, and that's the constant process. You're always trying to learn and keep up and stay on top of it."

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