The New York Giants have done the exact opposite of what many predicted for the team this year. After a surprising 2022 season which featured a playoff win over the Minnesota Vikings, the 2023 Giants are falling fast. The team may need to hit the reset button after falling to the cellar of the NFC East at 1-4 while facing one of the league's most gruesome schedules.
Critics are pointing fingers in a plethora of directions such as the coaching under Brian Daboll, the offensive line, injuries, and more. Yet, the main issue is the lackluster play of quarterback Daniel Jones.
Jones inked a massive four-year, $160-million deal this past offseason and many deemed it to be a drastic overpay. The money could have easily gone to star running back Saquon Barkley or helped the Giants fill out their roster such as its thin wide receiver depth chart. Now the time has come to ask the question if the Giants messed up in paying Daniel Jones that lucrative contract?
Here are three reasons the team should bench him for the remainder of the season.
1. Daniel Jones is a turnover machine
Ever since entering the league in 2019, Jones is tied for the fourth most turnovers with a whopping 64 in just 59 career games. That crooked number amasses to an average of 1.08 turnovers per game and is incredibly high for his current contract and for a team that rushes nearly 40 percent of the time.
This season Jones has thrown for 884 yards with just two passing TDs and six interceptions. Yet the problem does not stop there as he is tied for the most fumbles in the NFL since 2019 with Josh Allen. The Duke graduate already has four this season and is well on his way to surpassing his six from last season.
With the Giants continuously trailing in games, the team cannot rely on Jones to resurrect a comeback as he will turn the ball over. The team must begin to look elsewhere in order to give themselves a fighting chance to try and win games and save its free-falling season.
2. Tyrod Taylor is a proven NFL QB
Many forget just how electric Tyrod Talor truly is as an NFL talent. In 2020, Taylor beat out star quarterback Justin Herbert out of NFL Training Camp and was deemed the starter by head coach Brandon Staley until a doctor punctured Taylor's lung. The injury was very severe and caused Taylor to miss the majority of the season and paved the way for Herbert.
The former Virginia Tech Hokie has appeared in 85 career games, starting 53 of them, and has just 26 career interceptions. One may think it is due to the fact that Tayor does not throw as much as Jones, yet he has eclipsed over 2,798 passing yards three times in every season that he has started in over 14 games.
Taylor also excels at the deep ball which is something the Giants desperately needed to try and revive its offense. In 2015 with the Buffalo Bills, Taylor was top five in the NFL with nearly a 50 percent completion rate on balls thrown over 20 yards for the majority of the season. Daniel Jones this year is under 19 percent and has not been trying to force the ball downfield when losing, which has hurt the team's comeback efforts.
Taylor also had the Bills on the cusp of a playoff berth in 2015 before suffering an injury that would end his campaign. His talent can lead the Giants to a few wins and get the team back on track before this season is a complete bust.
Taylor is an NFL veteran who has a Pro Bowl selection under his name and sports over a .500 winning percentage in his career, so what are the Giants doing by not giving him a shot?
3. Generational talent is looming in the NFL Draft
A final reason the G-Men should bench Daniel Jones is that if they want a chance at turning around the franchise, their shot is next April in the NFL Draft. This year's draft has plenty of potential quarterbacks with serious talent that could come the Giants' way should they decide to throw in the towel this season.
The class of quarterbacks is absolutely loaded and headlined by Caleb Williams and Drake Maye. Yet there are more intriguing projects such as J.J. McCarthy, Quinn Ewers, and even potential Day 2 fliers such as Jayden Daniels or Shedeur Sanders. Seasoned NCAA veterans such as Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. are also very interesting options as each has at least five seasons under their belt and can bring their experienced game to New York and make an immediate impact.
If Jones is clearly not the answer, why does the team keep running him out there? If they choose to not start Taylor and try and win then the team should waive the white flag and take a shot at one of these talents in the upcoming draft.
With an abysmal 1-4 record and one of the NFL's hardest remaining schedules, the team can easily finish with one of the league's worst records and prime itself with a top draft pick and the potential to turn the franchise around and end this miserable 2023 campaign.
