Darren Waller is someone you want in your corner. Injuries have seemed to be the norm for New York Giants Quarterback Daniel Jones ever since he entered the NFL in 2019. From lingering ankle, neck, hamstring, and knee injuries, the Giants signal-caller has only played in one full regular season since 2022. Last season was no different as a neck and season-ending torn ACL limited Jones to just six games in 2023.
The Giants season was already heading in the wrong direction when Jones was healthy, they were 1-5 in their first six games and he had just two touchdowns to six interceptions. Was the blame though really all on Daniel Jones? Despite the down year Jones had after taking New York to the playoffs the year prior, Darren Waller, who played just one season for the Giants is defending him. What did Waller have to say?
Darren Waller Defends Former Teammate Despite Disappointing Showing
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Say what you want about why the Giants should’ve drafted a quarterback in this past year’s NFL Draft when Jones had a downright awful season, former Giant Tight End Darren Waller is coming to Jones’ defense. Waller was on the ‘Ross Tucker Football Podcast’ and recently spoke about many things about his football career and what led him to retire after last season. When he was asked about his first and only season in New York and what exactly went wrong, Waller knew it wasn’t the fault of his former quarterback.
“We were going into the season like, ‘Man, this season might be special.’ Then it was like, we couldn’t really can’t protect him. You can’t expect anyone to be successful with the pocket looking like it was last year on our team on a week-in and week-out basis,” Waller said.
He knew that Jones was not the issue for the Giants in 2023. Say what you want about the ill-advised throws he made and the turnovers that Jones had in just the six games he played, but Waller knew Jones was not protected well enough. In the six games that Jones did play, he was sacked 21 times as the offensive line simply could not protect their quarterback.
Waller also noted that Jones never got a fair chance to improve upon his play after receiving his contract extension that paid him nearly $40 million a year. Waller is hoping that the protection is better for him heading into the 2024 season.
Did The Giants Improve That Protection For Jones?
After leading the league in sacks allowed by a wide margin in 2023 with 85 of them allowed, the offensive line had to be a priority for the Giants. So far, it has looked like the Giants have made the right moves at the position. New York made several moves this offseason to improve their offensive line by signing guard Jon Runyan Jr., tackle Jermaine Eluemunor, and most recently, guard Greg Van Roten.
It will be very interesting to see if these moves will indeed payoff for the Giants this year after last season’s debacle when it seemed like the Giants had a different offensive line lineup each week. They will look for stability in that unit this season.
It was a disappointing season for Daniel Jones last season after getting a brand new contract extension, but Giants fans should take note of what Darren Waller said about his quarterback. Jones quite simply lacked protection last season and Waller saw it firsthand in his first and only season in New York. While 2024 will be a crucial year for Jones and the Giants, can you blame Daniel Jones for a disappointing season for the Giants last year?
