The New York Giants are making the right noises about sticking with quarterback Daniel Jones, but the franchise needs to back its starter by drafting wide receiver help. Fortunately, Florida State’s Keon Coleman is a “run-after-catch” playmaker who would “make life easier” for Jones, according to Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz of USA Today Sports.
He named Coleman as the ideal pick for the Giants in his latest mock draft. Middlehurst-Schwartz believes “6-4, 215-pound Coleman could help unlock the downfield passing game that has been absent for the last two seasons.”
As Middlehurst-Schwartz noted, Jones needs a field-stretcher “for jolting an offense that is ahead of only the Panthers with a paltry 4.1 yards per play.”
Jones couldn’t expand the passing game before a cervical neck injury and torn ACL wrecked his season. He struggled, but No. 8 also lacked a genuine big-play threat on the outside like Coleman.
Keon Coleman the Go-To Target Daniel Jones Needs
What Coleman would offer the Giants is a big body and impressive catch radius. Those things help the 20-year-old go up and get the ball against any type of coverage.
Coleman showcased the difference his height and frame make by “high pointing” this catch against LSU, per Renegade Roundtable host Jeff Kirby.
According to Pro Football Reference, no wide receiver in Big Blue’s passing game averages more than Darius Slayton’s five yards after catch per reception. Because of his “lateral agility after the catch,” which presenter Jon Helmkamp of Cover 1 has noted, Coleman is a danger to convert any short pass into a long gain.
If Jones is to ever live up to the faith the Giants have placed in him, he needs a receiver with Coleman’s physical attributes and style of play.
Daniel Jones Remains to Be Proven
According to Michael Eisen of Giants.com, general manager Joe Schoen has enough faith in Jones to guarantee that “when Daniel’s healthy that he will be our starting quarterback.” That’s a significant demonstration of faith in a quarterback who, before to injury, had only two touchdown passes and six interceptions.
Jones had received a four-year, $160 million contract last offseason, and he was certainly not living up to it. According to Spotrac.com, the Giants will need to activate a clause in the deal that provides for a potential out following the 2024 NFL season if Jones continues to fail.
He will only improve in the presence of exceptional potential. Hyatt has demonstrated breakout potential, but the Giants still need to improve their offensive line security and wide receiver room’s athleticism.
The greatest place to look for those two items is in the draft. particularly considering that the Giants won’t be losing out on a top-10 pick in April of next year.
Per Tankathon, they presently hold the sixth overall pick. The only possible result from two games against the Philadelphia Eagles, which precede a showdown with the hottest Los Angeles Rams, is a higher draft selection.
The Giants cannot afford to jeopardize valuable draft picks to develop around Jones by depending on well-liked backup quarterback Tommy DeVito to win those games.
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