Former QB: Giants' Daniel Jones has trait similar to Tom Brady

Retired quarterback and current NFL analyst Chris Simms explained one thing New York Giants starter Daniel Jones has in common with future Hall of Famer Tom Brady. 

"Size is a skill," Simms said, per Kevin Manahan of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "Daniel Jones, to me, is in a small class of quarterbacks in the NFL, where he can throw over the line of scrimmage. It keeps a variety of throws still available to him that are not available to most quarterbacks, and it’s a short list." 

Among quarterbacks mentioned by Simms on that list are Jones, Brady, Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers and Trevor Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

Simms recently placed Jones, listed at 6-foot-5 and 221 pounds, at No. 11 in his 2023 quarterback rankings even though the 26-year-old finished the 2022 season with just 15 touchdown passes across 16 games. As noted by ESPN stats, Jones also ranked tied for sixth among qualified players with a 60.8 adjusted QBR and fifth among quarterbacks with 708 rushing yards. He contributed a career-best seven scores on the ground. 

Simms praised Jones' rushing abilities but seemed more impressed with how the signal-caller produced positive passing results despite not having a true No. 1 wide receiver in 2022. Running back Saquon Barkley and largely-unknown commodity Richie James tied for the team lead with 57 catches each last season. 

"He made more with less than anybody in football," Simms added about Jones. "Go back and watch. I mean, he’s got games where there’s nobody open. He’s still getting completions and still getting positive yards. He’s a high-level thrower. ... He hits the bullseye on a lot of tight-window, 15- and 10-yard throws. I’m holding my breath: 'This can be a pick-six,' boom, bullseye, first down. There’s so much of that." 

The Giants signed Jones in March to a four-year contract that could be worth up to $160M and includes an additional $35M in incentives and $82M in guaranteed cash. That investment indicates general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll believe the 2019 first-round draft pick will only improve with an additional year playing in Daboll's system. 

"He made some unbelievable plays and throws that were unreal," Simms said about what he noticed when reviewing Jones' work from the 2022 campaign. "But then the other aspect [is], 'OK, wait, nothing positive has happened. Nobody’s been open. I’m going to force something to happen. I’m going to throw a ball here that ... Whoa, this is semi-reckless, but I think it’ll get us jump-started,' and the ball was amazing." 

Jones may have to carry the Big Blue offense if Barkley remains away from the team through the start of regular-season play amid an ongoing contract dispute. Simms sounds confident Jones could handle such responsibility even though most reporters believe it's a matter of when, not if, Barkley shows up for work at some point this summer.