The latest episode of Hard Knocks has stirred up quite a debate among NFL fans and analysts alike. It gave viewers a rare peek behind the curtain, showing Giants’ GM Joe Schoen discussing Daniel Jones’ contract and whether to shell out $12 million a year for Saquon Barkley. But it left a question on everyone’s mind: Are the Giants making the right call by handing Daniel Jones the keys?
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Two-time Super Bowl champion LeSean McCoy certainly doesn’t think so. On a recent segment of FS1’s “SPEAK,” McCoy didn’t pull any punches. He was floored by Schoen’s conversation about Jones being a “good player,” a sentiment McCoy believes is far from the consensus among himself and other NFL enthusiasts.
“Daniel Jones? It can’t be the answer. You can’t expect to go far in the NFL when your quarterback is that bad, is that awful. I don’t see nothing good about him. I see no growth. My son is 12 years old. He don’t play with the Giants on Madden. I’m like, ‘Why?’ The quarterback’s trash.”
McCoy even brought his 12-year-old son into the mix suggesting if a 12-year-old Madden player isn’t wanting to play with Jones in a video game, the Giants must wonder about that $160 million contract. The former running back also took issue with the Giants letting Saquon Barkley walk, effectively making Jones the face of the franchise.
In McCoy’s eyes, that’s a recipe for long-term trouble. However, not everyone’s on the same page. Former Giants player and co-host Emmanuel Acho sees things differently.
Acho Disagrees With LeSean McCoy
Emmanuel Acho also chimed in after LeSean discussed his brawny opinion. However, the former Giants player offered a fresh take on Daniel Jones’ future with Big Blue. Acho thinks the Giants front office aren’t fully sold on Jones as their franchise guy, but they’re giving him an opportunity to prove the doubters wrong.
The FS1 analyst pointed out that the Giants’ support for Jones is likely influenced by their financial investment in him last offseason. The team signed Jones to a huge four-year, $160 million contract, averaging $41 million annually, which also showed that the Giants had envisioned a future with Jones as their centerpiece. However, Acho highlighted:
“No quarterback succeeds at the high level without a dominate receiver or receiving threat whether it’s Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, amongst others, you name it, none of them do. Daniel Jones is the only $40 million quarterback that ain’t got no Pro Bowl receivers. You could blame him for that though but listen, he also has no Pro Bowl offensive linemen.”
Acho further argued that, right now, Jones shouldn’t even bear the sole responsibility for the Giants’ offensive struggles. For a fair assessment, Daniel Jones needs to be surrounded by Pro Bowl talent, both in the receiving corps and on the offensive line.
According to him, if the Giants make these necessary improvements to the team’s offense and Jones still fails to perform at the expected level, only then can they confidently conclude he wasn’t the right quarterback to build their franchise around.
