Why Giants icon thinks Daniel Jones could help team's pass rush

New York Giants icon Justin Tuck earned a pair of Super Bowl rings with the organization as part of menacing pass rushes.

Tuck believes current New York quarterback Daniel Jones could ultimately benefit the club's defense this coming fall similar to how Jones' former mentor did: by giving the team leads.

"Hopefully, we can get a healthy quarterback — and Daniel comes in and puts them in a lot of positions to rush the passer," Tuck told NJ Advance Media at an event on Monday. "That’s why we were mostly successful. Eli [Manning] gave us some leads that we could work with."

Of course, there are far more questions than answers regarding what Jones will be this September. While he made numerous positive plays with his arm and legs en route to guiding the 2022 Giants to a playoff berth and a road postseason victory, he struggled across six starts this past campaign before he suffered a torn right ACL on Nov. 5. 

Tuck isn't the only former Giant optimistic about Jones bouncing back in a big way, as free agent Justin Pugh recently said he thought the club "did the right thing" by not replacing the 27-year-old signal-caller with a first-round draft pick in April. However, it's hardly a secret that Giants general manager Joe Schoen may already be planning to escape Jones' contract early next year.

For a piece published Tuesday, NFL analysts Mike Clay, Aaron Schatz and Seth Walder of ESPN ranked the Giants last in the league for the upcoming season as it pertains to projected starting lineups. Tuck clearly disagrees with such takes and believes New York's offseason acquisition of Brian Burns from the Carolina Panthers will benefit fellow pass-rushers such as Kayvon Thibodeaux and defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.

"Yeah, I think on paper, they look really, really set up to make some noise," Tuck said about the Giants roster amid the team's summer break.

As of Tuesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Giants as +400 betting underdogs to make the playoffs this coming season. Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll could be shown the door in January if they're unable to prevent the franchise from enduring yet another losing campaign.