As a team, the New York Giants took some steps forward in head coach Joe Judge’s first season, posting a 6-10 record (its best mark since 11-5 in 2016). It was also a record that, thanks mainly to the lack of quality play in the NFC East as a whole, kept the Giants in the thick of a playoff berth hunt right down to the last second of the final regular-season game of the year.
Alas, the Giants were eliminated literally before the clock struck midnight. Still, the improvement was a nice development for a team that not many people were expecting all that much at the start of the year. And speaking of progress, in their breakdown of each team’s most improved player from the 2020 season, Pro Football Focus has a somewhat surprising choice for the Giants.
Quarterback Daniel Jones.
Yes, you read that correctly. Jones is PFF’s pick for the most improved Giant, their reasoning being as follows:
This one may seem like a mistake, given that many of Jones’ passing numbers actually took a step back in his second season, but those passing numbers don’t tell the entire story. Jones’ PFF grade—a number designed to isolate the play of a quarterback from his supporting cast — actually improved from 65.9 as a rookie to 78.4 in 2020.
The biggest reason for that improved grade was that Jones did a better job of keeping the ball out of harm’s way, reducing his number of turnover-worthy plays from 31 in 2019 to 17 this past season on a similar number of dropbacks. He also gave the Giants some added value with his athleticism as a runner. A better offensive environment should lead to better results for Jones next season.
Putting PFF’s grading system aside since grades are subjective, let’s look at some of the hard numbers as to why a supporting case can be made for Jones being one of the most improved Giants' players.
On the surface, Jones’ second-year stats are mostly on par with what he put up as a rookie (save for a handful of exceptions), which would suggest that he didn’t make much progress (though the other side of that argument is he didn’t regress as badly as some believe).
The two most glaring areas where Jones’ numbers fell off from Year 1 to Year 2 were passing yards and touchdowns. But in that case, it’s certainly fair to ask how much of that was a result of his receivers not coming up with as many plays as they did for him in his rookie season—they dropped 29 balls, seventh-most among quarterbacks last year, and a slight increase from the 21 drops from 2019.
And speaking of the passing yardage, how much of that resulted from inconsistent pass protection not allowing for deep passes? (Jones threw only 43 deep pass attempts last year versus 54 as a rookie.)
And how much of that is due to his receiving targets seeing a decline in their average separation yards from 2019 to 2020 (the lone exception being Darius Slayton, who per NetGenStats averaged 2.3 yards separation in 2020 versus 2.2 average yards in 2019)?
So, where was there improvement?
Jones’ adjusted accuracy rate took a significant step forward, going from 71.1% as a rookie to 75.2% last year, and he cut down on his bad throws (76 vs. 80).
He also improved his completed air yards/attempt (6.5 to 5.7) and CAY per completion (6.5 to 5.7).
All of these numbers are baby steps forward even though his significant stats—attempts, completions, passing yards, etc. are about the same as they were during his rookie season.
The cut down on turnovers? No question that was probably the most significant step forward for Jones, though a stat not necessarily exclusive to a quarterback’s play since any offensive skill player can experience “fumble-itis” if he’s sloppy with ball security.
That Jones was better with his ball security would also suggest that he began developing a better feel for pressure while in the pocket, as he took a few hits this year, especially from the blindside that probably would have separated him from the ball as a rookie.
The Arrow is Pointing Up, if Just Slightly
Jones didn’t take a quantum leap forward in his second season—not if you’re comparing him to Kyler Murray of Arizona or Lamar Jackson of Baltimore.
But you also can’t make an apples-to-apples comparison either, considering that Jones, unlike Murray and Jackson, didn’t have the luxury of being in the same offensive system and that Jones lacked a game-breaking threat to throw to.
That’s why the 2021 season will be a pivotal one for both Jones and the Giants. General manager Dave Gettleman has already admitted that landing playmakers to help the league’s 31st ranked scoring offense is among the items at the top of the team’s to-do list this off-season.
In doing so, the Giants will also be able to get more of a complete picture as to what they have in Jones before they even begin to entertain any talks about a long-term extension.
That's going to be important for both sides, especially as we've seen other young "franchise" quarterbacks like Jared Goff, formerly with the Rams, and Carson Wentz of the Eagles signed to premature contract extensions they end up completing with another team.
What's next for the Giants this off-season? Sign up for our FREE newsletter for all the latest, and be sure to follow and like us on Facebook. Submit your questions for our mailbag. And don't forget to check out the daily LockedOn Giants podcast, also available for subscription wherever you find podcasts.
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February 11, 2021 at 01:28AM
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Pro Football Focus Reveals Choice for Most Improved Giant Player - NYGiantsmaven
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