The Giants have found their hopeful heir apparent to Eli Manning after selecting Duke QB Daniel Jones with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Earlier this offseason, many believed the Giants had their eyes set on Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins. But Jones has been linked to New York more of late, and now we know why.
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Dave Gettleman did not hide the fact that he wanted to find the heir apparent to Eli Manning, and that he hoped to do it in this draft. And he sure did, taking Jones, who has risen up draft boards in the last few months.
He was not considered the top quarterback in the draft by many. Plenty of NFL teams ranked Oklahoma's Kyler Murray and Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins ahead of him. Some even ranked him behind Missouri's Drew Lock. He has what many consider to be an average arm and his college production wasn't great.
But the Giants fell in love with him and his intangibles. They like his size. They love his demeanor. And he came with a huge endorsement from Duke coach David Cutcliffe, who famously coached both of the Manning brothers.
The Giants were expected by some to target Jones at 17. But good for them not messing around with the most important position in sports. Yes, they could've landed edge-rusher Josh Allen here and that would've been a great pick, too. But if they had a conviction on a quarterback - and they obviously did - waiting would've been crazy. They made the smart move to address that position first.
GRADE: B-plus
With Gettleman wanting to follow the "Kansas City Model" -- having a quarterback sit behind the veteran starter to take over whenever their time is up -- Jones is the perfect candidate that already has a headstart with his time as a Blue Devil.
At 6-foot-5, 221 pounds, Jones has the prototypical quarterback size and the arm strength to match. His learning from Cutcliffe and the Manning brothers has already been displayed as well, with the Charlotte native showcasing his ability to work through his progressions with ease and dissecting a defense rather quickly.
There were some, though, that weren't high on Jones based off his production at Duke. He never eclipsed a 3,000-yard season, but never really had top talent around him. In three years as a starter, Jones totaled 8,201 yards, 52 touchdowns to 29 interceptions and completed 59.9 percent of his passes.
Last season, Jones had his best quarterback rate at 131.7 after producing 2,674 yards, 22 touchdowns, nine interceptions, and a 60.5 completion percentage.
Being able to both pass and scramble outside the pocket to pick up yards, Jones has the tools to become a quality NFL starter. He will need to do some learning, though, to reach his full potential. Luckily, that is the situation he will find himself in for Big Blue.