Daniel Jones has had a life-changing last 10 months. Going into the 2022 season, Jones was in a contract year and needed to perform to earn a lot of money during the following free agency period.
The New York Giants had not picked up Jones’ fifth-year team option in April of 2022 and Jones’ future was undoubtedly up in the air. In came new head coach Brian Daboll, who helped craft a friendly offense for the quarterback.
Jones had the best year of his career, the Giants made the playoffs and Daboll was named Coach of the Year. The solid season from Jones forced the Giants’ hand and the front office handing him a four-year, $160 million extension. Jones’ contract slots in at #9 in terms of average annual salary among all NFL players.
Questions regarding his level of QB play
But many still have doubts about Jones as a quarterback. His highest passing yardage total in a season came last year when he threw for 3,205 yards, but he only scored 15 touchdowns through the air and his career-high is 24 in one season. Jones has been a very effective runner through his career, though. So much so that many are willing to make bold claims about his rushing ability.
Speaking on his own show on FS1, Craig Carton dropped a controversial take while discussing Saquon Barkley‘s contract situation: “Daniel Jones is arguably the best rushing QB in the NFL“.
There’s no denying Jones has improved tremendously as a rusher, but no stats or advanced metrics lend credence to his statement.
The numbers don’t add up
Last season, Jones ran for 708 yards and scored seven touchdowns on the ground. It was by far his most productive season as a runner (his previous highs were 423 yards and two touchdowns).
Despite that impressive production last season, Jones ranked fifth among quarterbacks in terms of total rushing yards. He was tied for third in rushing touchdowns. And his yards per carry number was tied for fifth.
Justin Fields blew everyone out of the water last year in terms of rushing production among quarterbacks, leading in total yards and yards per carry. Lamar Jackson missed five games and still out-gained Jones on the ground.
Josh Allen had his second-consecutive season with over 760 rushing yards. As did Jalen Hurts, who also scored double digit rushing touchdowns for the second year in a row.
Those four have a much more compelling case than the one Carton made.