Back in April during the 2019 NFL Draft, the New York Giants would send shock waves all across the entire landscape of the National Football League. The reason: They would take a quarterback out of Duke University of all places. That’s right, and it’s not even just that of what surprised so many people, it’s the fashion that they did it in: “With the sixth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the New York Giants select Daniel Jones, Duke University.”
As time went along, however, and Giants fans would get used to the idea, we then started to see another attitude from Big Blue’s loyal. That was the demand of starting Daniel Jones immediately over their aging veteran quarterback Eli Manning. Instead of recklessly starting the rookie right away though, general manager Dave Gettleman has opted to sit Jones instead — smart move.
In the very first preseason game, Jones would impress putting up a stat line of 5-for-5 for 67 yards and would make the New York fan base a bit more aggressive in pushing for him to be the starter. To make it even juicier, Jones also added a touchdown to his numbers. That showing was an extraordinarily small sample size, but the good performance would even add pundits into the discussion of wanting to see Jones as the starter.
And all of this began from the confusion of the Giants taking Jones with the No. 6 pick of the draft, especially considering they could have grabbed him with the No. 17 pick that they owned. And now we’re here to the point where we have a prop bet: Online sportsbook BetOnline has dropped a set of odds on which quarterback between Daniel Jones and Eli Manning will have the most starts in the 2019 campaign. Manning is the favorite placed at -150 odds, while Jones is an underdog at +110.
The New York Giants have proven over time, that overall, they like to be consistent and stick with their game plan — at least with their roster. With that being said, even though we saw some action in Week 1 from Jones (it was a blowout too, so consider that), I think the Giants take their time with Jones and his development. And not just that, but I’m sure they’ll show Eli Manning the proper respect and let him go out on his own terms.
Even their owner John Mara would back up his quarterback before the season started, who has won two Super Bowl rings for him, and would also say he doesn’t want to see Jones at all: “I hope Eli has a great year and Daniel never sees the field. That would be an ideal world. We would like to see that.”
At this point, you certainly have to ride with Eli Manning and his -150 odds, provided by the best football betting sites, to have the most starts. Whether the play is bad or not, I just feel the Giants will let Eli do his thing until retirement — fair enough after two championships.
The New York Giants are completely loyal to Eli Manning, and like I’ve already mentioned, they won’t be moving on from him until he calls it quits. On top of that, the Giants are most likely to give Manning a contract extension after the season is over. He may be 38 years old, but he’s still Eli Manning, so you can’t blame New York for that move if it happens — it’s called respect. Plus, you really don’t want to kill your trust with potential future free agent signings by shunning your two-time Super Bowl winning veteran quarterback. Expect the New York Giants to completely take care of Eli Manning.
After the Giants would take Daniel Jones in the draft, general manager Dave Gettleman would tell the media that he wants the situation been Manning and Jones to be similar to the Green Bay Packers when they had both Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. If you don’t recall, Rodgers sat for multiple seasons behind Favre to learn from the veteran. The New York Giants (smartly) wants to implement the same thing, I love this strategy.
As far as Duke University’s Daniel Jones is concerned, let’s introduce him to you in deep detail if you’re not aware of who he is, and then afterwards we’ll go over the entire list of prop bets that involve Eli Manning and Daniel Jones, as well as my prediction for each one.
Head coach David Cutcliffe has just been absolutely iconic for Duke University’s football program since his arrival, particularly the job that he did with Daniel Jones to make him an NFL starting quarterback — from freakin’ Duke! None of us should be surprised though. Cutcliffe is the same guy who helped Peyton Manning hit his peak while at Tennessee, and then he would do the same thing with Eli Manning while at Ole Miss (that’s a pretty respectable resume to say the least.)
As far as the Mannings are concerned, Jones is similar in the nature of his build, but he actually has a bit more athleticism than the Manning brothers. And the evidence is in his time at Charlotte Latin High School. There, he would set records in football, as well as being selected to All-North Carolina twice, and the athleticism skills came out in full-force with him playing for the school’s basketball team for three years. Think that was it though? It’s also in his DNA: Both of his siblings are student-athletes at Davidson College, with his brother playing basketball and his sister on the field hockey team.
As a redshirt freshman, that’s when Daniel Jones would become the ‘big man on campus’ at Duke, being the starter for all 12 games for the Blue Devils. After throwing for 2,836 yards, 16 touchdowns and completing 63.8% of his passes, Jones was then named Duke’s Most Valuable Player — he would also rush for 486 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
In his sophomore season, he would suffer a bit of a slump, but fortunately for him, it would still be a good season overall. In the air, Jones would calculate a total of 2,691 yards and 14 touchdowns, while also rushing for 518 yards and seven TD’s. Despite the low dip in numbers, however, Jones would go on to lead Duke to the Quick Lane Bowl where he would earn the game’s MVP after their win against Northern Illinois.
Last season in 2018, his junior campaign, Jones would miss two games because of a broken clavicle, but for the other 11, he was very productive. In total, Jones would collect 2,674 passing yards and 22 touchdowns, while completing 60.5% of his throws. On the ground, Jones would add 319 yards and another three scores. He would really grab the NFL’s attention at the end of the year though in the Independence Bowl. There, Jones would be absolutely lights out in a 56-27 thrashing of Temple, blazing the Owls for an incredible 423 passing yards and five touchdowns.
Daniel Jones has an uncommon amount of top-notch mechanics with his game for a college athlete, and that’s why he would be so productive as a three-year starting quarterback at Duke University. Jones may have not have a special arm like a Patrick Mahomes or Drew Brees, but his arm is good enough to throw at the professional level and his deep pass allows him to have pin-point accuracy. On his resume, it shows that he’s completed just a total of 59.9% of his passes throughout his career, but that number is tainted. In 2018 alone, his receivers would drop a combined 38 passes, and it was like that in his sophomore and freshman campaigns as well. Jones attended Duke and had the opportunity to go to Princeton, so it’s obvious that he’s intelligent, but his football IQ, in particular, is also on a high level.
Another thing that makes Jones so effective is his mobility, he can run for both gain and touchdowns. With that being said, however, Jones is more of a game-manager type like Joe Flacco, rather than a franchise superstar like a Tom Brady. He should be productive in the NFL, but don’t expect star status.
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