Giants rookie QB Daniel Jones has been an easy target for offseason fodder, but he wasn’t New York’s biggest mistake this offseason.
The New York Giants had an offseason GM Dave Gettleman would probably like to forget. And it’s not because he’s destined to have surefire regrets for any of his moves; heck, he made them. He probably likes all of them. Instead, it’s because Big Blue has been the target of national criticism for almost every transaction they’ve made.
The crescendo came at the 2019 NFL draft when Gettleman decided former Duke QB Daniel Jones was his guy with the sixth overall pick. Giants fans immediately took to social media to bash the decision and talking heads from almost every big-media outlet were anything but speechless.
Here we are, more than two months since the pick was made, and it’s still being questioned despite Jones’ outstanding performance throughout rookie and veteran minicamp. In fact, Bleacher Report recently dubbed Jones as New York’s riskiest offseason decision.
“Not only are the Giants betting Jones will be the future of their franchise, but they gambled on him early in Round 1,” Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox wrote. “They passed on elite defensive prospects like Josh Allen, Ed Oliver and Devin Bush in order to take him sixth overall.
“That’s risky for a team that finished 24th in total defense a year ago (371.4 yards allowed per game) and parted with both Landon Collins and Olivier Vernon in the offseason.”
I respect the take, but it seems like a miss.
The Giants’ riskiest offseason move wasn’t Jones; it was the decision to trade all-world wide receiver, Odell Beckham, Jr. to the Browns. Quite frankly, it isn’t even close.
Jones, like any rookie quarterback, is an unknown commodity. There’s just as good of a chance he’ll become New York’s next franchise signal-caller as there is he’ll be a bust and if the Giants had a high grade on him as a draft prospect, then they did the right thing selecting him. It makes no sense to pass on a quarterback who your scouting department has rated as a top-10 pick simply because there’s a chance he’ll still be on the board later in the draft.
It’s a completely different story with Beckham. He’s proven to be the NFL’s elite playmaker and arguably the most talented offensive weapon on the planet. The Giants received a mid-first-round pick in return and flipped that selection into former Clemson defensive lineman, Dexter Lawrence.
Lawrence will be a good NFL player, but he’ll never make the same kind of impact on a game that Beckham has and will continue to do.
So while Jones is an easy target, it’s the Beckham trade the Giants will wish they can redo.