Daniel Jones ‘wasn’t fired up’ about Giants looking into drafting QB this offseason
There was plenty of smoke around the Giants potentially selecting a quarterback early on in this year's NFL Draft.
Big Blue attempted to trade up for UNC’s Drake Maye, SNY's Connor Hughes reported, but were unsuccessful. Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy was on the board when their pick came around at sixth overall, but they went with top receiver Malik Nabers instead.
While things ultimately worked out in his favor, starting quarterback Daniel Jones admitted at OTAs on Thursday that he wasn’t thrilled about seeing the team look into outside options.
“I mean I wasn’t fired up about it,” Jones said. “But I think that it’s part of it at this level and all I can do is focus on myself and getting healthy and playing the best football I can play and that I know I’m capable of playing. That’s my job and that's what I’m going to do.”
Jones didn't talk to GM Joe Schoen or head coach Brian Daboll about the potential QB pursuit, but he did discuss the addition of a new top weapon in Nabers, which he is fired up about.
The quarterback has been able to connect with his new young receiver during the early days of OTAs, and he's looking forward to developing a stronger connection with him as the offseason progresses.
"I'm fired up we got Malik," Jones said. "Obviously he's extremely talented, he's a great route runner and he's extremely strong and fast and adjusts to the ball well, which is all the things you're looking for. It's going to be a process but I look forward to putting in the work with him."
As mentioned above, that work began this week as Jones hit the field with the rest of his teammates with no restrictions during 7-on-7 drills, taking another big step in his recovery from ACL surgery.
The former first-round pick says he’ll continue taking things day-by-day as the offseason progresses, but as of right now, he’s happy with how things are moving along.
“I think I’m in a good spot,” Jones said. “Our trainers and coaches have built a rehab program that takes a step every week to make progress and do a little more, and because it’s built that way I’ve felt good about every next step that we’ve had.”
If things continue progressing as planned, Jones expects to be fully cleared by the beginning of training camp, and he has “no doubt” that he’ll be back under center for the G-Men for their regular season opener against the Minnesota Vikings.
“Just going to continue day-by-day with the process,” he said. “Obviously the goal is to be fully ready to go by the beginning of camp and I’m going to push to be ready as soon as possible. We have a good plan and I have a lot of trust and faith in our trainers and coaches.”
