Giants should look for opportunity to start Daniel Jones

Eli Manning won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants. He won’t be winning a third.

With the combination of a rebuilding roster and the erosion of Manning’s skills, the veteran quarterback has almost certainly seen his best days enter the rearview mirror. With those facts in mind, the Giants should be looking to insert rookie first-round pick Daniel Jones into the starting lineup early in the regular season.

Jones hasn’t been perfect in the preseason, but he’s looked more polished than many expected. The Duke product has played well against the New York Jets and Chicago Bears — albeit against backups — to the tune of a combined line of 16-of-19 for 228 yards and two touchdowns.

Again, this is preseason football. There are no schemes designed to stop a team, few blitzes to identify and no film study. These games are glorified scrimmages with fans being charged full price to enter. It’s ridiculous, and frankly, the preseason should be halved.

Still, Jones has been impressing the Giants since throwing in OTAs and mandatory minicamp. He accuracy has shown up, the arm talent is adequate and the understanding of the scheme has helped to further Jones’ development. Combined with Manning’s continuing decline, head coach Pat Shurmur has to be thinking about when to turn the proverbial page.

If there’s a natural place to slide Jones into the starting lineup this season, keep an eye on Week 7. The Giants are playing a Week 6 game on Thursday Night Football against the New England Patriots in Foxboro. Afterwards, New York has 10 days off before taking on the Arizona Cardinals at MetLife Stadium. Considering New England is the defending champion and Arizona just picked first overall a few months ago, it seems the obvious move if New York has fallen out of reasonable contention.

The other reason to start Jones? Shurmur and general manager Dave Gettleman. If Manning plays the entire season and the Giants are out of contention by Halloween, it would be tough for ownership to hold onto the duo. However, if Jones comes into the fold and plays well, Shurmur and Gettleman can both point to progress as reason for another year in their current positions.

The Giants don’t have much hope in 2019. They are going to be fighting for third place — at best — in the NFC East. Still, if Jones moves up the depth chart and makes an impact, there’s reason to be excited for the future.