These are now the Daniel Jones’ Giants.
Gone is Saquon Barkley, who former GM Dave Gettleman stated would be wearing a gold Hall of Fame jacket one day. Barkley’s journey down his own path and as team blazer had taken a different route to arch-rival Philadelphia.
Injuries were the main derailment for Barkley, who also never had a full supporting cast around him. Jones and Barkley were supposed to be a long-range solution.
To his credit, the hype of a Giants’ playoff season is registering a low level in the Meadowlands. At best, this will be a transiton year for head coach Brian Daboll and GM Joe Schoen from a 6-11 campaign last season
Barkley’s place will be taken by former Texan Devin Singletary, who is a dependable and durable back.
Jones’ future also was in question with much anticipation of the Giants moving up in the draft to grab North Carolina’s Drake Maye, who subsequently will take over the Patriots’ offense.
Instead, the Giants stayed with Jones and gave him LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers as a prime weapon.
So, as the Giants begin training camp, this is all in Jones’ lap. It will not simply be a matter of wins and losses, but it will be a matter of consistency and progress.
He has a revamped offensive line that has been betting better early reviews than they have had in years, and a young and rising receiving corps in which Nabers can be a lead player. The 26-year-old Singleton rushed for a career-high 898 yards last season and also caught 30 balls. He has rushed for just over 4,000 in his five-year career.
On the surface, life isn’t particularly bad for Jones.
Still, the 27-year-old, who inked a four-year, $160 million deal last season, will be under the microscope.
Jones had his season cut short last year to 11 games due his recurring neck injury and a torn ACL.
Despite the cards apparently stacked in his favor, Jones may not be able to play out his contract with the Giants. There is growing speculation that this could be his last season.
Joens only managed to throw for two touchdowns last season, and his struggle going through his progressions still is viewed as a major flaw. To his credit, Jones has 62 touchdowns and 40 interceptions for 12,512 passing yards and a 64.3 completion rate for his career.
Considering what has been around him, his 22-26-1 career record can be in question. He did win a playoff game in Minnesota two years ago.
His grittiness has never been questioned, as Jones has proved to be effective running the ball. But that also opens up his risk of injury.
This has become Jones’ team. And he will need to prove to Giants’ fans every Sunday.
For Jones, it will be a matter of being healthy, consistent, and productive.