Nearly 10 months removed from his season-ending torn ACL, which he suffered against the Las Vegas Raiders last season, New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is set to make his preseason debut on Saturday against the Houston Texans. Jones was limited to just six games for New York in 2023 due to a neck injury and the torn ACL. Because of this, Jones failed to repeat his strong 2022 season, which helped lead the Giants to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Even though it’s just a preseason game for Jones, the stakes should be high for the former first-round pick. Just one year removed from signing that four-year, $160 million deal, people are questioning whether or not he even deserved that contract. The Giants signal-caller has only played one full regular season since arriving in the NFL in 2019. While Jones is not anticipated to play much against the Texans on Saturday, here is what to watch for in his preseason action.
Jones’ Mobility
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This should be on every Giants fan’s mind when Daniel Jones takes the field on Saturday against the Houston Texans: how mobile is New York’s quarterback? Returning from any injury is such a hard thing to do, but from a torn ACL and not even a year removed from suffering, that may change how you want to operate on offense. But with Jones a running quarterback throughout his NFL career, it’s going to be very interesting to see his mobility in his first live game action.
Ever since Jones entered the league as the Giants’ new quarterback, he has proven to be a mobile quarterback with New York Giants fans had not seen much before he arrived. Since 2019, he has rushed for 1,914 yards, which is a franchise best, and has also averaged nearly six yards a carry. It also has not been that long since 2022, when he set a career-high in rushing yards with 708 yards and seven rushing scores.
It is safe to say that Jones has relied heavily on his legs during his time in the NFL, but will this knee injury set him back and change his game plan this season? Again, it is still preseason. This first game against the Houston Texans will be something to look out for in his ability to remain a mobile quarterback.
The Turnover Bug
Turnovers have been a common theme for Jones in pretty much every season he has been in the NFL. Since 2019, the Giants quarterback has had 64 turnovers, which is the sixth-worst in the league. Plus, despite missing 11 games last season, his touchdown-to-interception ratio was awful, to say the least, as he had two touchdowns to six interceptions, with two of those interceptions going the other way.
Now, as he gets ready to suit up in Houston, will the turnover bug continue to bother him in the first live game action since November of last year? Depending on how many snaps and series’ he plays this weekend, Jones has to prove that he can play like he did in 2022 when he only had five interceptions in 16 games. Ball security has been a problem for him since he became the Giants starting quarterback and he needs to take much better care of the ball against the Texans.
With the strong play from Tommy DeVito last Thursday in the Giants preseason opener, there is certainly more added pressure there since DeVito did not turn over the football at all. Losing the turnover battle will lose you games in the NFL, and Jones must erase that problem this preseason.
An Early Look at the Jones-Naber Connection
Despite the Giants’ first-round pick and rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers dealing with a minor ankle injury he suffered last week in training camp, reports are coming out that he could suit up on Saturday. If that’s the case, this will present the opportunity to see if the Daniel Jones and Malik Nabers connection will be one to watch for this regular season.
Nabers has had a great training camp thus far, and Jones and Nabers already look like they’re on the same page as New York seeks its first 1,000-receiver since Odell Beckham Jr. Jones finally has a number one wide receiver to throw to, and the Giants proved that they still have faith in the quarterback when they opted to draft a wide receiver with their first-round pick instead of a quarterback.
If Nabers does indeed play on Saturday, it may only be for a couple of series, but that makes it even more important for Jones and Nabers to impress. Can Daniel Jones show that his chemistry with Nabers in training camp can translate into a live game.
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