In Defense of Daniel Jones

by Chris Paschal

The title says it all. This is a piece that has an agenda. I am not denying that. I went to high school with Daniel. We played on the same football team. I started on the offensive line and he started at quarterback. I might be the most biased voice you will hear on the topic. I also don’t watch the NFL. I have no idea if Daniel will be a great pro or not. That’s not for me to add my two cents on.

The reason you should listen to me is because unlike all the other bloviating pundits you listen to, I actually do my homework. And when you do your homework, you understand why all the claims that “Daniel isn’t exciting” or “Daniel was an average college quarterback” or “Daniel doesn’t have the stats,” are garbage.

And after you do your homework, you realize that the claims on ESPN by Max Kellerman and the claims by Colin Cowherd that Dwayne Haskins is a much better quarterback are outrageous. To prove this, I am going to show my work – something the big network pundits don’t like to do. Here is what the comparison between Dwayne Haskins and Daniel Jones shows us.

Roster Talent Matters

If you disagree with this point, you don’t watch football. I could use a number of illustrations to prove this point (Jake Bentley with Deebo Samuel vs. Jake Bentley without Deebo Samuel, for starters), but I think most of you agree with that assertion.

When you look at the weapons that Dwayne Haskins had at his disposal compared to what Daniel Jones had at his disposal, it’s almost mind blowing. There is a bigger disparity between Duke’s roster and Ohio State’s roster than there is between Duke’s roster and IMG Academy’s roster. I’m not kidding. To prove this, I examined four recruiting cycles between the years of 2015 and 2018 via 247Sports.

In 2015, Ohio State had the seventh best recruiting class in the country. Duke had the twelfth best recruiting class in the ACC. Duke didn’t have a single offensive signee within the Top 500 Prospects. Ohio State had seven.

In 2016, Ohio State had the fourth best recruiting class in the country. Duke had the sixth best in the ACC. Duke’s best offensive signee was a tight end who was ranked 321nd. Ohio State had ten offensive signees within the top 200.

In 2017, Ohio State had the second best recruiting class in the country. Duke had the eighth best in the ACC.

In 2018, Ohio State had the second best recruiting class in the country. Duke had the twelfth best class in the ACC. Ohio State had 11 offensive signees within the top 400. Duke didn’t have a single offensive signee inside the top 500.

You get my point?

Ohio State had a superior offensive line and a superior receiving corps. Not to mention a rushing attack that could keep defenses honest. This matters. Why does Dwayne Haskins look so good? Because according to team rankings, Haskins was sacked on percentage close to half the number of times Daniel Jones was when attempting a pass. Half.

When you watch Dwayne Haskins tape, it’s impressive. He is a great quarterback. I am not arguing the contrary. But upon closer examination, you notice something telling. Unbelievable wide receiver play. So many of Haskins best throws were deep balls to wide open receivers who had blown by their defender. Makes sense. One of his favorite targets was Parris Campbell who ran a 4.31 forty-yard dash at the NFL Combine.

Daniel didn’t have that luxury. I’d argue that Duke’s roster was substantially better than a single team they faced last season – North Carolina Central. Ohio State’s roster was better than every single team they faced. Penn State, Michigan, maybe Michigan State, maybe Washington were comparable. Maybe.

The Numbers

“You are what your stats say.” I’ve heard that ten million times as people criticize Jones. He never threw for 3,000 yards. His passer rating and yards per attempt rank almost last in quarterbacks that are projected to be drafted. People, including these pundits, look at those numbers and instantly write him off as mediocre and as someone who shouldn’t be considered in the same breath as Haskins.

But numbers lie. Numbers don’t have eyeballs. Numbers don’t watch the games. But I do. And, yes, I have no life. Let’s compare the 2018 seasons between Haskins and Jones.

First thing that jumps off the page is Haskins unbelievable stat lines. I mean it was like the dude was playing a video game. He threw for less than 250 yards just twice in 14 games. He threw less than two touchdowns in a game just once. When you look at Daniel’s stats in comparison, it’s shocking. Daniel threw for over 250 yards just three times. He threw less than two touchdowns in over half of his starts in 2018.

But guess what… I don’t care about that. Partly due to what we have already examined, roster talent, but also partly due to the fact that Daniel played well in key games.

In 2018, Duke started the season against an Army team that would go on to win 11 games and almost upset playoff-bound Oklahoma. Daniel finished that game with a 76.5% completion percentage. He threw for more yards against Army than Heisman Trophy winner, Kyler Murray did.

The following week, Duke took on Northwestern, supposedly one of the tougher opponents on Ohio State’s schedule. Daniel threw for three touchdowns and completed 72.7% of his passes. He also broke his clavicle in the game.

He came back just three weeks later. What did he do? He threw for 226 yards and completed 65.7% of his passes against Virginia Tech. The next weekend he threw for three touchdowns and completed 63% of his passes against Georgia Tech.

The next weekend, Duke played Virginia. This is a game that pundits circled as a reason Jones is overrated. Nothing could be further from the truth. With an outmanned Duke team, Jones completed 55% of his passes against one of the best pass defenses in the country. Disagree with me? Look up their rankings. Watch them play. This Virginia defense finished the season with 15 interceptions and with the head of Jake Bentley after destroying a South Carolina offense that was just weeks removed from shredding Clemson.

How did Daniel bounce back from his loss to Virginia? He completed 64% of his passes against Pittsburgh for close to 400 yards passing and four touchdowns. You don’t think this guy has a short memory, crucial in the NFL, then think again.

Then comes Miami. A game Duke won. Jones completed less than half of his balls against the Hurricanes. Not a great stat. But when you consider the fact that Miami was the top ranked passing defense in the country last season and sacked the quarterback 37 times (only Clemson and Syracuse ranked better in the ACC), it makes you reconsider his numbers in that game.

But yet again, like a professional, Daniel bounced back the following week beating Duke’s bitter rival, North Carolina, and throwing for over 360 yards and three touchdowns. Then came the Clemson game. The National Champions. Clemson just had three defensive linemen taken in the first round of the draft, finished second in the nation in sacks, and was a top 20 passing defense. Duke had no chance. Peyton Manning could have been the quarterback, and Duke had no shot.

Then there is the Wake Forest game. Besides possibly the Virginia game, which we have already addressed, the Wake Forest game is the single biggest piece of evidence that the Daniel Jones haters hang their hats on. The problem is the Wake Forest game proves my point more than theirs. The Wake Forest game shows how numbers can be deceiving when you consider the talent Daniel had to work with compared to what Haskins had to work with.

The Wake Forest Game

Yes. 59-7 looks bad. It looks about as bad as me without a shirt on. And I am sure that if you asked Daniel, like many NFL Executives probably did, he would admit that that performance and that result was unacceptable.

But remember what I entitled this piece. This is a defense of him. So I took the liberty of watching every single offensive snap Daniel had in that game’s first half. (You think Cowherd or Kellerman did that?)

Here is what Daniel’s first half stat line read (I took out the shovel pass completions to not water down how bad it looks): 11-25, 1 TD, 1 Int. That doesn’t look good. Especially against 5-6 Wake Forest. But here is the kicker – it wasn’t that bad. Here is what the stat line should have looked like: 20-25, 1 TD, 1 Int. I went back and watched that first half and could not believe my eyes as I watched nine drops. Nine. You think Dwayne Haskins has receivers dropping nine passes in the first half? Not only were his receivers dropping passes, but Daniel was pressured or hit almost every other throw.

Give Daniel Jones A Shot

I’m not saying he will be an All-Pro Quarterback. I have no idea how he will do in the pros. I do know that he is a hard working, humble, studious young man, though. He has the work ethic and the coaching needed to give this thing a real shot. He was coached by one of the best quarterback minds in the business in David Cutcliffe. The same guy that coached Peyton and Eli Manning.

And one more thing, don’t knock him for being him. All these pundits love to bring up issues with these quarterbacks. So many of them had “throwing mechanic issues.” Some were too short. Some ran too much. Some had bad attitudes. Some had addictions.

What have people been giving Daniel a hard time for? Not being exciting enough? Not having a killer instinct? Attending Duke instead of Ohio State? These aren’t real issues. These are fake issues made up by ESPN. These are issues made up by people that think race had to do with Daniel being selected over Dwayne. These are issues made up by people that don’t do their homework. These are issues made up by people who sought out an easy target and went to lunch.

I don’t know if Daniel will be good or not. Hell, he may be a bust. But that’s not what this post is about. It’s about disproving fake news and false storylines. It’s about not acting like I know more than NFL Scouts and Executives. It’s about waiting to pass judgment. It’s about giving this guy a freaking chance to prove himself.