Let’s look at the best- and worst-case scenarios for Eli Manning’s heir apparent"

/>Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhiteBig Blue Viewa New York Giants communityLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpFanpostsFanshotsSectionsLibraryGiantsOddsAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections New York Giants NewsGiants Training Camp 2016Giants vs. Eagles 2015 Corey Ballentine Jersey Draft , Week 17Filed under:New York Giants News2019 NFL DraftDaniel Jones at No. 6: Madness or greatness? Only time will tellNew,26commentsLet’s look at the best- and worst-case scenarios for Eli Manning’s heir apparentEDTShareTweetShareShareDaniel Jones at No. 6: Madness or greatness? Only time will tellChristopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY SportsAt the outset it is important to make a disclosure: With the return of “Game of Thrones” to the small screen for its eighth and final season, I have spent most of my non-football time focused on both the HBO series as well as the written work of George R.R. Martin. In addition to flying through “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” the prequel set of novellas telling the story of Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire Egg, I have been also pouring through “Fire and Blood,” the voluminous tome telling the history of House Targaryen. In both Martin’s written work and the HBO series, references are made to the comments made about the birth of each new Targaryen. It was something commented upon, by example, Cersei Lannister during the show: “Madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin. Every time a new Targaryen is born, the gods toss the coin in the air and the world holds its breath to see how it will land.” With the sixth overall selection in the 2019 NFL Draft, Dave Gettleman flipped a coin of his own by selecting Duke quarterback Daniel Jones, and now Giants fans are holding their breath to see what side lands face up: Madness or greatness.The case for madnessHow the readers of Big Blue View graded the selection of Daniel JonesLet’s start with the worst-case scenario for Daniel Jones. His weaknesses as a prospect start with the decision making in the downfield passing game. Jones is a quarterback who relied heavily - and I do mean heavily - on the quick game as well as one-read concepts in the passing game. 49.2 percent of his throws traveled five yards or less downfield, and 72.6 percent of his “dropbacks” were 0/1 step drops, indicative of simple or singular reads. Now, when he is throwing and executing these quick game concepts, his decision making is sound and his ball placement tends to be good to great. But by comparison, the quarterback who made the highest number of 0/1 step drops last year was Nick Foles, who used those on 58.3 percent of his dropbacks. The NFL average was 33.8 percent. So there is potentially a scheme fit dilemma facing Pat Shurmur and the New York Giants. Let’s also consider for a moment one of the aspects to Jones as a prospect that was used as a case in his favor: His relationship with head coach David Cutcliffe. The Duke University head coach was a mentor for both Peyton Manning and Eli Manning, and the relationship between Jones and Cutcliffe enabled comparisons to both players, and allowed for scouts and evaluators to believe that Jones’ training and coaching would put him ahead of some of the other passers in the class.Is that truly a strong case, though, for Jones? Cutcliffe has the reputation of a quarterback developer Corey Ballentine NFL Jersey , but his two works of art are players that in all likelihood would have been good with even me coaching them. Beyond the Mannings, Cutcliffe’s track record is less than stellar. Outside of the Mannings you have Heath Shuler, who was drafted early but never panned out, Erik Ainge, Thaddeus Lewis, Sean Renfree and now Jones. Those are the players who have gone onto the NFL. That ... does not inspire confidence.Taking some of these concerns to the film, you can see that when Jones is tasking with making multiple reads on a given play, or pushing the ball downfield, you can see the decision making falter and the ball placement become spottier. Given the number of times that Jones is making singular reads, this is to be expected, but this does create both a schematic concern, as well as a developmental concern. Either Jones will need some time to become a more well-rounded quarterback, or the offense must become a mirror of what Jones was running at Duke. So what would the “madness” side of the coin look life for Jones? Playing early in his career, not getting a chance to start the developmental process before facing live action, and being forced into an offense that is not built around his experience and schematic background. In that kind of situation, Jones will struggle early and often, and the Jones experiment might end up failing. The case for greatnessLet’s put this out there: If Gettleman and the Giants identified Jones as their top-graded quarterback, and wanted to address quarterback in this draft, then just taking him at six makes sense. Better to just make sure of securing the player you want than waiting and hoping he was there for you at 17. The best case scenario for Jones is this: Cutcliffe, despite his reputation as a quarterback developer, has a different job title on his business card. Head coach. His job at Duke was not to develop Jones to play in the NFL, but to win games. Looking at the offense around Jones Corey Ballentine NFL Draft , you can see that there was a lack of talent up front and at the skill positions. Watching Jones on tape you can see instances of lineman missing blocks, receivers dropping good throws, and Jones being put in the position of carrying the team offensively.(Of course, there is a counter-argument here: Great players elevate those around him. Remember, we’re making the rose-colored glasses case now).So perhaps the singular read offense Jones was running was more a function of the other players, and a way to use scheme and design to attack defenses quickly by spreading them out and getting players in space, rather than relying on receivers getting open deep and winning one-on-one matchups. If that is indeed the case, then perhaps the learning curve for Jones is not as steep as we might fear tonight.In addition, for better or worse the Giants still have Manning on the roster. Gettleman did indicate that he wanted the “Mahomes Timeline.” If they can take a year with Jones on the sidelines to learn about life in the NFL, how to prepare during the week, how to read defenses on the fly and things like that, and get one more year out of Manning, that would be an ideal situation for Jones and his development. Furthermore, looking at the Giants’ offense as currently constructed, they seem to be building a corps of receivers who will be used in the short passing game. Slot receiver types such as Sterling Shepard and Golden Tate who can rely on quickness in the short area as well as change of direction ability. That lends itself to a West Coast kind of attack, one that Jones is ideally suited to run. If the plan is to build that kind of offense for Jones to run, than this could indeed be the kind of schematic fit that the Duke product would need to thrive in the NFL. In the scouting profile piece on Jones, I wrote that “his landing spot might be more critical than for other passers in this class. The team that drafts him will need to have a solid developmental plan in place for him.” Landing in New York, even with my hesitations and fears with him as a prospect, could be the best fit for him. He is landing in a spot where he will not be needed to play immediately, and even if Manning suffers an injury there is a more veteran backup in place in Alex Tanney and/or Kyle Lauletta, and Jones can take a redshirt season in 2019 and just prepare himself for the future. This is a pick made for the future of the franchise. It has the potential to work. The bottom lineWhile we will not know for a few years what side of the coin landed face up Corey Ballentine Buffalo Bills Jersey , Giants fans have to hope now that the organization has that solid plan in place. Giving him time to learn, and building more talent around him, is the way to make this pick work. In an era of “trusting the process,” Giants fans now find themselves trusting in the coaches - and perhaps even the Gods themselves — as they start to watch this coin spin and wait for it to land. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Rhett Ellison is never going to step into the New York Giants‘ lineup at tight end and make people forget Evan Engram.The 29-year-old Ellison is an old-time tight end. He’s tough. He’s physical. He catches the ball, runs hard and blocks as well.Engram is the more modern version of a tight end. The 23-year old can run like a receiver, break a game open with a catch and help out a little with his blocking, which is not his strongest suit.When the Giants (1-2) face the New Orleans Saints on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, Ellison is going to step in for Engram, who sprained his knee last weekend against Houston and is going to be sidelined for a couple of weeks.“There’s stuff that I can’t do that Evan does,” Ellison said Thursday before the Giants practiced. “For me, it’s just trying to execute the plays and find my role in the play that’s called, and try to make a play.”Ellison had his best game of the season this past weekend, catching three passes for 39 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown, in a 27-22 win over the Texans.Odell Beckham Jr., who leads the Giants with 24 catches for 271 yards, said all the receivers are going to have to step up to replace Engram, who led the Giants in receiving last season.“Rhett, we call him Mr. Consistent. I do, at least,” Beckham said. “He always seems like he’s in the right place at the right time Color Rush Corey Ballentine Jersey , always making the plays, so everybody’s got to step up.”Ellison has spent a lot of time this week talking with Engram, who had 10 catches for 104 yards and a TD this season.“A lot of people sleep on Rhett,” Engram said. “He’s definitely a teach-tape in the blocking game. The dude is a really good athlete and makes plays in the pass game too. So, no need to give him any speed. He was moving on some plays on Sunday, and I expect him to have a big game this weekend, and through the pass game. I know he’s going to take care of his blocks in the run game.”Giants coach Pat Shurmur worked with Ellison when both were with the Vikings.“I’m fond of Rhett who he is as a player and as a person,” Shurmur said. “He epitomizes a player that you want on your team. He’s very good at what he does, he can line up anywhere, he finds a way to make plays. Some guys just have a knack for that. He finds a way to make plays. Very trustworthy and very tough, and he’s wired like a football player, and that is what you’re looking for.”Shurmur even equated Ellison’s toughness with that of Mark Bavaro, the outstanding tight end who was a member of the Giants’ Super Bowl-winning teams after the 1986 and ’90 seasons.The comparison was somewhat funny because Bavaro made a name for himself early in his career carrying a half-dozen San Francisco defenders on a 31-yard pass play in the ’86 season.“One of which was my dad,” Ellison said, whose father Riki was a linebacker who played a decade in the NFL. “So, I’m sure my dad is not happy about this comparison.”Ellison said he isn’t approaching this game any differently than others in his seven-year career. He is spending time with backup tight ends Scott Simonson and rookie Garrett Dickerson to make sure they are up to speed. Engram is working with them, too.“He definitely has been picking my brain a lot this year,” Engram said of Ellison. “So have I with him in blocking and stuff. I have all the confidence in him. Like I said, I feel like I’m a vet sometimes when that happens. He’s like the young kid asking me for help and stuff.”NOTES: CB Eli Apple (hamstring) returned to practice on a limited basis. LB Olivier Vernon (ankle) was also limited. DT Damon Harrison (knee), RB Jonathan Stewart (knee) and WR Cody Latimer (knee) missed practice for the second straight day.