As the Giants try to mold Daniel Jones into one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks, expect more than a couple of pages to be ripped from the playbook the Dallas Cowboys used to develop Dak Prescott.
Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, of course, shepherded Prescott from a fourth-round pick to a passer who has averaged 3,495 yards, 24 passing touchdowns and nine interceptions through his first four seasons.
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Garrett’s presence, combined with the Giants’ desire to feature running back Saquon Barkley significantly, seems to suggest Prescott’s development is a map the team hopes to follow as Jones enters his second season.
“Based on how [Garret] likes to play offense, with that No. 1 offense in the NFL,” former NFL head coach Steve Mariucci recently said on NFL Network. "Was running the ball first, and he’s got a guy who can do that in Saquon Barkley.
“So, Daniel Jones is going to be developed like Dak Prescott. Play good defense if you can, run the ball if you must, and let’s wing it gradually."
Prescott, who has averaged a 97 passer rating in his first four seasons, is coming off a career-best 4,902-yard season, with 30 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and a 99.7 passer rating. While some of Prescott’s sustained regular-season success can be attributed to the Cowboys’ reliance on running back Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas has boasted one of the NFL’s premier offensive lines over the past four seasons.
Head coach Joe Judge says the Giants’ new scheme will mirror what the Cowboys ran under Garrett, and that is likely good news for Jones and his development.
“I think schematically the easiest way to describe it right now to the outside world is: It’s going to be similarly based on what Jason has done in Dallas over the last 10 or so years," Judge said on May 13. "There’s going to be some similarities catering to that, but it’s got to cater to our players on our roster.”
The Giants seem to have -- finally -- invested in rebuilding the offensive line with quality young players, after selecting offensive tackle Andrew Thomas with the No. 4 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft, along with former UConn tackle Matt Peart and Oregon guard Shane Lemieux. However, the line remains a work in progress.
As such, it is entirely possible that Jones takes a step back from a rookie campaign where he completed 61.9 percent of his passes for 3,027 yards with 24 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and 10 fumbles lost in 13 games. But, if Jones can significantly reduce his turnovers, which has been a point of emphasis for him in his private workouts this offseason, the Giants could surprise some people this season.
For his part, Jones is eager to get to work in Garrett’s scheme. In a lot of ways, despite the constraints of a virtual offseason caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Jones already has.
“[I’m] diving into some of the Cowboys’ stuff and what they had done in the past,” Jones said recently. “The rules make it tough to communicate a whole lot about that stuff, so there’s a little bit of patience involved in that and getting to the point where we could get the playbook and kind of understand some of the concepts and get some of the verbiage. I did my best to be prepared for when I could get my hands on that stuff.”
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