Most NFL fans know how disastrous a stint Daniel Jones had with the New York Giants. It earned him the dreaded “bust” label (at least for now) as he looks to reboot his career with a new team. However, what if we told you that one player saw his downfall coming before it happened?
Advertisement
Turns out, former NFL QB Devlin “Duck” Hodges had the crystal ball all along, and he’s finally letting people know about it.
In 2019, when the undrafted rookie got invited to try out for the Giants, he saw it as a waste of time. He knew the starting job was all but Jones’, thanks to his draft capital. Jones was a respected prospect in the 2019 NFL Draft, with the Giants reaching and selecting him 6th overall. Suddenly, a 22-year-old out of Duke was handed the keys to a team searching for Eli Manning’s successor. The expectations were massive.
Hodges still attended the minicamp, just to get the experience. And the undrafted rookie was left surprised, as the performance he put on display during the tryout was something he says he’ll never forget. He believed he was better than the 6th overall pick.
“I balled out at the Giants. Daniel Jones was there. No disrespect, Daniel Jones, I felt like I threw the ball a lot better than him. I was hype, I thought I was letting it loose,” Hodges shared on The Christian Kunts Podcast.
It must have felt pretty invigorating for the undrafted rookie out of Samford. Hodges likely felt, at first, that he had to prove his worth and that he didn’t belong in the NFL. But after outperforming Jones, his confidence shot through the roof.
A great example of that confidence came a few days later when he tried out for the Pittsburgh Steelers. When they asked him what he thought about Jones, he gave a pretty blunt response.
“Then I came to Pittsburgh the next weekend, and I remember one of the first questions they asked me was, ‘How’s Daniel Jones?’ And like, this wasn’t me trying to be cocky or anything, it was just like I’m trying to stand out. My response was, ‘I don’t think he’s $30 million better than me,’” Hodges said.
The response, he says, may have been the reason why the Steelers signed him. Not long after that, Hodges proved to be right, too. Jones had a disaster-class stint in New York.
After experiencing brief success in his rookie season, Jones was inconsistent over the next two. In year four, he found something again, leading the Giants to a 9-6-1 record and a playoff appearance. They even knocked out the Minnesota Vikings in the first round in a massive upset.
Jones was later handed a large contract for his efforts in the playoff run. But, he quickly reminded us why many analyst had doubts. He started 2023 with a 1-5 record before tearing his ACL and missing the entire season. Then, in 2024, he was benched after a 2-8 start and was eventually cut from the team.
Now, Jones is on the Indianapolis Colts, battling with Anthony Richardson for the starting job. He’s a decent player who can manage games effectively with the right coach and system around him. Yet he’s clearly not the 6th overall face of the franchise QB that he was touted as. Maybe the Giants should’ve noticed that when a guy named Devlin Hodges was outperforming him in the rookie minicamp.
