The Athletic’s Mike Sando put together his annual quarterback tiers and rankings for the quarterback position, including the Indianapolis Colts’ Daniel Jones.
To help cultivate these tiers, Sando spoke with 50 NFL coaches and executives to get their opinions on each player.
Jones would end up in Tier 4 out of five possible tiers and was ranked 30th overall. But what specifically did some of the NFL personnel who spoke to Sando have to say about Jones’ play?
The voters that Sando spoke to “overwhelmingly” thought that Jones would win the Colts’ quarterback competition.
“I get nervous with Jones,” an offensive coach told Sando. “I understand if you are not very good on offense and cannot protect, there will plays when you look bad, but there are too many times where he has a guy wide open and he throws it in the dirt or 10 feet over his head. I just don’t think he is naturally accurate, and I did not think he was in college.”
Jones has been relatively efficient as a passer over his career, with a completion rate of 64.1%. However, he and the Giants’ offense struggled to generate explosive plays down the field.
Over the last two seasons, Jones averaged 5.9 yards per pass attempt, which for some context, would have ranked 41st last season out of 44 eligible quarterbacks.
Success for Jones starts with the offensive line giving him time in the pocket to operate within the rhythm of the play. Without that, he ranked 30th in completion rate last season, according to PFF.
“A couple years ago, Jones was probably worthy of being a 3,” a defensive coordinator said to Sando. “He still might be that. He has to show it.”
Another defensive coordinator said to Sando that Jones “could be like the 2024 version of Darnold with a defense, running game and the right coordinator. But concerns over Jones’ ability to process linger.”
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: NFL coaches weigh in on play of Colts’ QB Daniel Jones
Reporting by Paul Bretl, Colts Wire / Colts Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
