The Giants appeared to take a step forward last year under new head coach Joe Judge and signed some key free agents, such as wide receiver Kenny Golladay, this offseason but one question still remains: does Daniel Jones look like a Super Bowl-winning quarterback?
“Yes, he does,” according to owner John Mara.
Mara was asked this question by Ian O’Connor of the New York Post this weekend and wasted no time in throwing his support behind the third-year quarterback.
“I can say that without any hesitation,” he added.
It has been no secret Jones has had quite the shoes to fill since being drafted by the Giants sixth overall in 2019. The 23-year-old is replacing a two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback in Eli Manning.
Mara was also asked by O’Connor if Jones can match Manning with two Super Bowl rings.
“I don’t see why not,” he said. “If we put the right pieces around him.”
Which is what Mara and Dave Gettleman and the rest of the Giants brass hopes to have accomplished this offseason.
The Giants went 6-10 last season but closed it out going 5-3. Much of the success was due to a defense that was finally starting to click, but despite some success at the end of the season, there were still concerns about Jones.
He continued his knack for fumbling and turning the ball over and he failed to throw for 300 yards at any point in the 14 games he played in.
And while the lowly NFC East kept the Giants’ playoff hopes alive, they still ultimately fell short and have now had a losing record in eight of their last 10 seasons since winning Super Bowl XLVI.
The Giants have made the playoffs just once, in 2016, since then and have not won a playoff game since beating the New England Patriots in that Super Bowl.
It’s hearkened back to the days the Giants were the laughingstock of the league in the 1970s when Mara’s father, Wellington, owned the team.
“It’s not all that different, to be honest with you,” Mara said. “I’ve said things in the past like, ‘I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again,’ yet here we are….Yeah, that is a fear of mine. Maybe that’s another reason we committed so much money this offseason. We need to turn this team around.”
The Giants added Golladay, a 6-foot-5 veteran receiver who could play the role of Plaxico Burress to Jones’ Manning. They locked up defensive lineman Leonard Williams after an impressive year, as well as defensive back Logan Ryan. They also picked up Ryan’s former teammate, safety Adoree’ Jackson — another former first-round pick.
With the NFL Draft still ahead, things are certainly looking optimistic for Big Blue, good enough for the team to going back to being a perennial playoff contender.
Added Mara: “I think our roster is good enough to make the playoffs.”