No-stars to a playoff winning QB
Only a few people thought Daniel Jones would reach where he got to in the 2022 NFL season, leading the NY Giants to a playoff win against the Minnesota Vikings. Not many colleges recruited Daniel in high school; he had no stars, and 247Sports rated him as the 2,020th best recruit. Nevertheless, he ultimately decided to walk on at Duke.
At Duke, he had some success, leading the team to an 8-5 record and throwing for 22 touchdowns his senior year. With his outstanding performance at the Senior Bowl and tools, most mock drafts and analysts expected Daniel to go in the middle or latter end of the first round in the 2019 NFL draft. Instead, the NY Giants would get criticized for drafting him so early at 6th overall.
Daniel would have a mixed rookie season, throwing more than 3,000 yards and 24 touchdowns, but with 23 turnovers. The following two years would be worse, as he never reached 3,000 yards or more than 11 touchdowns. The Giants would hire a new head coach and general manager. They would turn down Jones' fifth-year option; this was usually a death knell for a player staying with the team after the fourth year.
Instead, Jones would have his best year, throwing for 3,205 yards, rushing for 708 yards, and totaling 22 touchdowns while leading the Giants to their most playoff success since over a decade ago.
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References
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Where did Daniel Jones go to college? How Giants QB rose from Duke to become a top NFL draft pick
At every stage of his career, Jones has had to overcome obstacles. He's still just 25 years old, and you have to think the best years of his career lie ahead. But now, as he prepares to lead his team into battle this weekend, it's worth remembering the remarkable journey he's had to get to this point. Daniel Jones took the path less traveled, and it made all the difference.
Sporting News
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Phil Simms’ easy advice for Daniel Jones pick haters
Phil Simms wasn’t the Savior early in his career, and he sure heard it from Giants fans, but he eventually joked that he wore them out and won them over. So the question for Simms was this: What would you tell outraged Giants fans about the shocking pick of Daniel Jones?
NY Post
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Daniel Jones' road from anonymous high schooler to potential top-10 pick
At that time, 247Sports ranked Jones as the 2,020th-best player in the 2015 class. The quarterback's composite rating, which combines the opinions of major recruiting services, listed him with no stars and an "NA" ranking. Rivals.com didn't even have a photo to go with Jones' profile. He was, for this purpose, as anonymous as the old Twitter eggs.
The Score
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Duke's Jones emerging as blue-chip QB
Daniel Jones is living proof that college football recruiting isn't an exact science. Despite being a three-year starter and setting school records for total offense, passing yards and touchdowns at Charlotte Latin School, Jones' college options were more academic than athletic. Ivy League schools such as Harvard, Princeton and Yale, along with the start-up program at Charlotte, were the only ones expressing interest until his high school coach made a call to Duke's David Cutcliffe.
The Fayetteville Observer
