Daniel Jones is well aware of the criticism that’s swallowed the New York Giants in the wake of their decision to selected him at No. 6 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, but true to form, he’s shrugged it off.
However, some of Jones’ former Duke teammates have also gotten wind of it and, in some cases, they’ve taken it a bit personally.
Zach Harmon, a former starting guard for the Blue Devils, finds humor in the skepticism about Jones but believes Giants fans will be groveling at the feet of general manager Dave Gettleman soon.
“You put NFL-caliber players around him, he’s going to excel. Giants fans are passionate, I’m just going to tell ’em right now, in a couple of years, in three years, they’ll be thanking Gettleman,” Harmon told the New York Post.
Harmon isn’t the only one who feels that way, either. Former reserve linebacker Kevin Gehsmann also believes that Jones would have done substantially better had he been surrounded by more talented players, in part because of his relentless desire to win.
“I hate to say on my team that some kids were giving up at the end of the Clemson game, but Daniel was the exact opposite of that, battling for every frickin’ yard even when we were down 35 points against the best D-line in the country or maybe that college football’s ever seen,” Gehsmann said of the Blue Devils’ 35-6 loss to the then-No. 2 Tigers in November.
“Put him at Ohio State and he might be the Heisman Trophy winner.”
Those who know Jones personally and professionally believe the Giants got themselves a gem — a great human being who will do as much for the community as he will for the team, and they expect him to win some Super Bowls, so that’s saying something.
