'Just throw it up': Why Giants need Daniel Jones to dial up the deep ball this season (2024)

New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen laid things out plainly during “Hard Knocks” when he said the team isn’t paying quarterback Daniel Jones $40 million per year to hand the ball off to a $12 million running back. The obvious subtext is the Giants gave Jones that contract to air it out, and all indications are that’s the plan this season.

Coach Brian Daboll said the game plan for Jones’ preseason debut last Saturday against the Houston Texans was to “throw a bunch of deep balls.”

“Try to push the ball down the field, which has been a point of emphasis,” Daboll said.

The results were mixed, but the aggressive attack was executed. Four of Jones’ 18 attempts (22.2 percent) traveled at least 20 yards in the air. Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis led the NFL with 22.4 percent of his attempts traveling at least 20 air yards last season. Former Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields was a distant second at 14.6 percent.

Jones had just 11 passes travel 20 yards in the air on his 160 attempts last season. That 6.9 percent rate would have been the lowest in the league if he had enough attempts to qualify.

The reluctance to throw deep last season wasn’t an aberration. Since ranking 20th (11.8 percent) in passes 20-plus yards in the air as a rookie in 2019, Jones’ aggression has been in a steady decline: 28th in 2020 (8.9 percent), 30th in 2021 (7.5 percent) and 32nd in 2022 (5.9 percent).

The lack of deep throws can’t all be attributed to the supporting cast, either. Backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor threw passes of 20-plus air yards on 15 percent of his attempts after replacing an injured Jones last season.

The Giants operated with training wheels during the 2022 season, with a conservative offense leaning heavily on running back Saquon Barkley. With Schoen opting not to pay Barkley $12 million per year this offseason, the offense must transition to a downfield passing attack.

Schoen strived to provide the ingredients for a deep passing attack entering a season that will decide Jones’ future. The offensive line has been fortified with veteran acquisitions, and the wide receiver corps features three players drafted in the first three rounds of the past three drafts, including this year’s first-rounder, Malik Nabers.

With Barkley removed as a crutch, Jones will need to justify his salary by amplifying the talents of Nabers, Jalin Hyatt and Wan’Dale Robinson.

“The one thing I take comfort in, and I know there will be continued development in, is his ability to push the ball down the field, being more aggressive and taking those deep shots,” assistant general manager Brandon Brown said. “I think this is the first time in his career that Daniel has had four receivers who could line up on a 4x100m track team and are creating natural separation.”

There’s ample evidence that Daboll, who is calling plays full-time for the first time in New York, prefers an aerial attack. Bills quarterback Josh Allen led the NFL in 20-plus air yard attempts in 2018 (20.3 percent) as a rookie when Daboll was Buffalo’s offensive coordinator.

Even as Allen’s deep attempts declined — he ranked 18th with 11.5 percent of his passes traveling 20-plus air yards in 2021 — the Bills’ passing offense grew more explosive. Allen ranked fourth in completions of 20 or more yards in 2020.

The aggressive mindset has permeated the offense during training camp. When Daboll offered Nabers the opportunity to call a play early in camp, Nabers proposed a go route. When Jones conferred with Nabers before the play about changing the route based on the coverage, the receiver shut down any adjustments.

“Just throw it up,” Nabers said.

And with that, the unofficial motto of the 2024 Giants was born. Nabers proceeded to race past the cornerback and catch a deep pass. The rookie has made that type of play throughout camp, and the Giants are counting on that to continue during the season.

The Giants need to throw deep to have success this season. If Jones is willing to pull the trigger and deliver strikes like the 44-yard bomb he threw to Darius Slayton in the preseason game against Houston, the Giants’ offense could be dangerous. But if Jones can’t execute this type of offense, Daboll can’t neuter the passing game like he did in 2022.

Deep to Slayton!

📺: FOX5/Giants App pic.twitter.com/EYMsFcwRAs

— New York Giants (@Giants) August 17, 2024

This season is much more about evaluating the young receivers than it is about Jones. That means throwing deep often. If he can’t, the Giants will know it’s time to find a quarterback who will.

Trivia time

Here’s a random trivia question: Jones is tied for the fifth-longest-tenured starting quarterback with the same team. Can you name the four longer-tenured quarterbacks and the other QB entering his sixth season with his current team? Answer at the bottom.

Trusted targets

The utility of training camp stats is limited because a quarterback having a particularly good or bad day isn’t meaningful. But charting every reception during 18 practices at least provides an idea of which receivers were a quarterback’s top targets.

Here’s a breakdown of the receivers for Jones’ 167 completions during 11-on-11 periods during camp: WR Robinson (47 catches), WR Nabers (30), WR Slayton (21), WR Hyatt (19), RB Devin Singletary (14), TE Theo Johnson (10), RB Tyrone Tracy (9), RB Eric Gray (5), TE Daniel Bellinger (4), TE Chris Manhertz (3), WR Allen Robinson (2), TE Lawrence Cager (2), WR Isaiah McKenzie (1).

For context on how the camp production could translate to the season, seven players caught at least 10 passes from Jones during camp last year: Darren Waller (40), Slayton (27), Barkley (23), Parris Campbell (20), Isaiah Hodgins (17), Hyatt (10) and Daniel Bellinger (10).

Here’s how many catches those seven players had during the season: Waller (52), Slayton (50), Barkley (41), Bellinger (25), Hyatt (23), Hodgins (21) and Campbell (20). Robinson led the Giants with 60 catches last season, but he didn’t participate in camp because he was recovering from a torn ACL.

The season production was relatively aligned with the camp production, accounting for some variables like in-season injuries.

Meaningful snaps

Special teams roles heavily influence which backups make the roster. Linebacker Carter Coughlin played two snaps on defense last season, but he led the team by playing 397 special teams snaps. Only 13 Giants played more than 397 defensive snaps last season, so that gives an idea of how big Coughlin’s role was despite only contributing in the third phase of the game.

Coughlin remains a core special teamer, so he should make the roster for the fifth straight season despite missing three weeks of camp with a quad injury. Other core special teamers with limited roles on offense and defense include wide receiver Miles Boykin and linebacker Darius Muasau. Both players appear to be locks for the roster even though they may not play a single snap on offense or defense.

Linebacker Matthew Adams was a core special teamer before suffering a groin injury in the second preseason game that has him “week-to-week,” according to Daboll. The Giants gave Adams $967,500 guaranteed in his one-year, $1.29 million contract, so he should make the roster as a special teamer even if he’s not ready for the opener.

Outside linebacker Benton Whitley has been heavily involved on special teams. He’s fifth on the outside linebacker depth chart, but a potential role in the kicking game could make him a sleeper for the roster.

Fullback/tight end Jakob Johnson has been a starter on multiple special teams units since signing last Friday. He’s another dark horse for a roster spot despite signing so late due to his niche as a fullback and his track record on special teams.

Cap gymnastics

The Giants restructured left tackle Andrew Thomas’ contract to create $3.3 million in cap space. That was an interesting amount because the Giants could have created an additional $7.1 million with a max restructure of Thomas’ salary, and it was interesting timing because there was no pressing need to create $3.3 million in cap space.

The move led to speculation the Giants were gearing up to make an acquisition, but there are no indications that’s the case. The Giants have $13.1 million in cap space after the restructure. That seems like a decent amount, but it’s the 24th most in the league and will be cut roughly in half before the season opener.

Here’s how: Only the top 51 cap hits count toward the cap during the offseason. The 52nd and 53rd players on the roster will start counting in Week 1, so that will eat roughly $2 million in cap space. The practice squad will cost another $4 million against the cap. Players on injured reserve will also start counting against the cap, although the Giants are fortunate not to have any expensive players on IR.

The hope for the Giants would be to use their remaining $6 million (or so) in cap space to cover practice squad elevations and injury replacement signings during the season. They have plenty of restructure candidates, including taking more from Thomas, if they need to afford a bigger salary in a trade or signing, but that doesn’t appear to be in the cards at this stage.

Looking to add?

The Giants are sixth in the waiver order, so they should be active adding players who are cut next week. Here’s a reminder of how the NFL waiver wire works, which is much different than the one in your fantasy football leagues.

NFL teams maintain their position in the claiming order regardless of how many players they claim. So the Carolina Panthers, who have the No. 1 spot, conceivably could claim 53 players on the wire and be awarded all of them.

Teams can submit claims for as many players as they choose while putting a limit on how many they want to be awarded. They prioritize each claim to determine whom they get. So if the Giants want one cornerback, they can put in claims for a bunch, and they’ll get the one that is highest on their list who isn’t claimed by a team above them in the order. After a team is awarded a claim, it must notify the league of the corresponding player on the roster to be cut.

Light work

Daboll held a tougher training camp than last year with longer practices and the elimination of seven-on-seven periods. But Daboll’s camps are still on the lighter side. The Giants wore full pads for eight of their 18 practices this year. That’s up from seven full pads practices out of 19 last year, but shy of the 10 full pads practices out of 19 in 2022. The CBA allows teams to hold a maximum of 16 fully padded practices during camp.

Trivia answer

Dak Prescott (Cowboys 2016), Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs 2017), Josh Allen (Bills 2018), Lamar Jackson (Ravens 2018), Kyler Murray (Cardinals 2019), Jones (Giants 2019).

(Photo: Thomas Shea / USA Today)

Dan Duggan is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the New York Giants. He previously covered the Giants for two years for The Star-Ledger. He has also worked for the Boston Herald. Follow Dan on Twitter @DDuggan21