Senior Bowl Quarterbacks: Daniel Jones

Senior Bowl Quarterbacks: Daniel Jones

Hello again everyone! It’s time to take a look at some of the seniors playing in the Senior Bowl on Saturday, January 26th. As many of you know, the Senior Bowl is a prime opportunity for college seniors looking to be drafted into the NFL to show their talents in an exhibition game setting. This is no truer than for quarterback Daniel Jones of the Duke Blue Devils. I know what you’re probably thinking and yes, Duke University does have a football team. Not only that, but they have a pretty good quarterback too. Let’s jump on into it.

VITALS

    Daniel Jones is listed at 6-5, 220 lbs. While to the average person, (me), this may seem huge, he’s slightly bigger as the average NFL quarterback. In terms of measurements think Mitchell Trubisky and Carson Wentz as comparisons. While he does have a history of minor to moderate injuries, he has shown that he can bounce back and play at a high level. With that big frame and the leadership qualities of a team captain, he has been known to exemplify the toughness and perseverance necessary to withstand the rigors of an NFL season.

STATS

    Daniel Jones is a dual-threat; meaning he is a talented singer and dancer. Sorry, got my notes mixed up. Jones is a dual-threat quarterback, meaning he just as dangerous to opposing defenses rushing as he is passing. In 36 games at Duke, Jones completed about 60% of his passes for 8,201 yards and 52 touchdowns; He also threw 29 interceptions. As for rushing, he finished with 1,323 yards and 17 rushing touchdowns. Throughout his college career, Jones has shown he is able to move around in the pocket to find a clear throwing lane and deliver a strike to his receivers.

    In his most recent game against Temple in the Independence Bowl, Jones finished with 6 total touchdowns on his way to leading Duke to victory. He also had 2 interceptions in this game. If you watched this game, you saw, for the most part, Jones standing tall in the pocket, making accurate throws downfield, and making good decisions in the face of pressure from the defense. Why is this game important? Well, if you’re as old as me you may remember a quarterback by the name of Mark Sanchez. After one good season as quarterback of the USC Trojans, he came out and destroyed Penn State in the Rose Bowl that year. He went 5th in the draft to the New York Jets and well…anyway, playing as well as Jones did on a major stage like a bowl game could help him move up in the draft.

DRAFT STOCK

    Jones is currently projected by most analysts to be a first-round pick this year. He has the potential to be the third or fourth quarterback taken in the first round (after Dwayne Haskins, Kyler Murray, and Drew Lock). While many teams addressed their need for a signal-caller in last year’s draft, there are still teams that could make drafting a quarterback their priority this year. The Jacksonville Jaguars are probably done wasting time with Blake Bortles, the Giants need to replace Eli Manning, the Redskins will likely need a quarterback after another Alex Smith injury, the Miami Dolphins could finally move on from Ryan Tannehill, and New England could possibly look to replace the ageless wonder, Tom Brady. Personally, I believe any team could move back past pick 20 to select Jones and would be getting good value.

ADDITIONAL INFO

    One of the biggest parts of Daniel Jones’s success as a collegiate quarterback has been his coaching by David Cutcliffe. Cutcliffe has coached Eli Manning into a Super Bowl winning quarterback and has had high praise for Jones. Oh yeah, he also coached Eli’s brother Peyton too.

    It also can’t be understated how valuable his intangible traits are. Jones is a smart player, capable of standing in the pocket and showing no fear while making his reads. He knows how to move within the pocket and escape when necessary. He has served as the team captain and was an integral part of the Duke program in his three years as a starter. Physically, even though he isn’t known for a strong arm or pinpoint accuracy necessarily, he is adept in both of these areas.

    While his stats haven’t been exactly eye-popping, Daniel Jones hasn’t really had the benefit of playing with top-tier talent at Duke. Obviously, anyone playing Division I football is talented, but Jones was by far the best player on the team. With some of the premier talent that he had been previously lacking, look for Daniel Jones to have a big day at the Senior Bowl.

-By: Nick Selko