Why Giants legend remains confident in Daniel Jones

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones became arguably the most criticized player in the NFL this week after he produced a dud in New York's season-opening 28-6 home loss to the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday.

Giants legend Eli Manning served as Jones' mentor and backup when the 27-year-old was a rookie during the 2019 campaign. Unlike many members of the team's fan base, Manning isn't yet ready to give up on Jones. 

"I've been in this situation," Manning said about Jones during a Thursday appearance on "The Dan Patrick Show," as shared by Jackson Stone of ClutchPoints. "I've had a bad Week 1 before. I've thrown three interceptions in Week 1. We've had losses. We've started 0-2 and, in a Super Bowl year, we started 0-2 and had to go down to Washington, and down at halftime and had a comeback win to get on a little win streak. I also know it can change quickly. You can get your confidence back." 

Numerous analysts mentioned throughout this week that Jones seemed to lack faith in his abilities and in those around him while playing against Minnesota in his return to regular-season action coming off the torn ACL he suffered in November of last year. Former teammate and current analyst Kyle Rudolph said on Thursday he felt Jones' confidence looked "completely destroyed" during the Vikings debacle. 

Manning nevertheless told Patrick he's still a Jones "fan." The two-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player also spoke with Jason Fitz of Yahoo Sports and insisted he believes Jones "can be an elite quarterback in the NFL" beginning with this Sunday's matchup at the 0-1 Washington Commanders.

"He's a leader in the locker room and does all the things right," Manning said about Jones during the chat with Fitz. 

Manning also suggested that Jones was dealing with rust against the Vikings after the signal-caller made just six starts last season. 

As Giants icon and current analyst Tiki Barber pointed out on Thursday, Jones "can’t afford to have rust" while playing in what is essentially a contract year. Jones' teammates had his back this week, but one wonders if the 2019 first-round draft pick could lose the locker room if he plays like a broken quarterback at Washington's Northwest Stadium.