Worst starting QB in the NFL? New York Giants’ Daniel Jones doesn’t deserve that label

The Daniel Jones slander has reached a new, and completely ridiculous, level.

This week, Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports ranked all 32 likely starting quarterbacks for the 2024 season. He placed Jones last.

That’s silly. That’s insulting. That’s just plain wrong.

I’m not here to tell you Jones is a great quarterback. He’s not. We can all agree, at least, that he has not been that. He probably never will be.

I’m not here to tell you Jones will be the Giants’ quarterback in 2025. Or to guarantee that he starts more games than Drew Lock in 2024. Unless he has a terrific season, he probably won’t be the Giants’ quarterback in 2025. And, if he and the Giants don’t play well, Jones might watch Lock … or Tommy DeVito … or Nathan Rourke play a lot of football.

I am here to say that putting Jones last on the list is a cheap, undeserved shot.

Benjamin has Jones ranked below all four rookie quarterbacks — Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, J.J. McCarthy and Bo Nix — who he believes will be their team’s starters. He has Jones ranked below journeyman placeholders Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew. Benjamin has Jones ranked below Anthony Richardson, who played four games last season before getting injured. Will Levis, with four touchdown passes in his rookie season, is ahead of Jones. Jones is ranked below Bryce Young, who’s atrocious rookie season was far worse than any full year Jones has ever played — including his 2019 rookie year.

There has been too much bad in Jones’ six seasons, with the six mostly-brutal games he played in 2023 being the worst of it.

Still, Jones is not Rhett Bomar or Ryan Nassib. He’s not Ryan Perrilloux or Jared Lorenzen. Those are all one-time Giants’ backups who never accomplished anything in the NFL.

Jones had a promising rookie season, throwing for 3,027 yards and 24 touchdowns in 13 games (12 starts) as a rookie.

In 2022, Jones had a league-best 1.1% interception rate. He led five game-winning drives and four fourth-quarterback comebacks. He went on the road and accounted for 379 yards (301 passing, 78 rushing) as the Giants defeated a 13-win team in a playoff game.

He’s done some things worth being given credit for.

Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy defended Jones during an appearance on ‘Valentine’s Views’ on Friday.

“Maybe I’m a Daniel Jones apologist or something. I’m not trying to be — yes, he played in the Senior Bowl. I’m not trying to be biased that way. I kind of look at all these guys differently than a lot of fans. If Daniel Jones was your brother or your son or your nephew or one of your best friends would you really look at the situation and be harsh on Daniel Jones, or would you be harsh on the situation the Giants have kind of put him in? To me, I’m in the latter camp.

“He’s had, to be nice, below average offensive line play. I hear people banging on Daniel because of his lack of durability. Well, every time I see the Giants in a prime time game this guy is completely under siege and getting his ass kick back there, so it’s hard to stay healthy when you’ve got 320-pound men teeing off on you. He hasn’t had any play makers. Saquon Barkley was banged up all the time, he never had a consistent run game. Rattle off the receivers he’s played with. In his time in New York has he had a guy that can go make a play for him when he when he needs a guy to go make a play? And and they won a road playoff game a couple years ago with him.”

I’m not saying Jones has been great, Neither is Nagy. I’m not saying Jones is the quarterback of the future for the Giants, or even that he shouldn’t be challenged for the starting job in 2024.

I’m just saying that he has done enough in the league not to deserve the “worst starting quarterback in the NFL” ranking Benjamin slapped him in the face with.