New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones only has one career NFL start under his belt, but his performance in that game was enough for “Danny Dimes” to trend on social media. While the former Duke star doesn’t seem blown away by the nickname, he isn’t exactly against it.
Jones, who says he is usually called “DJ” by his Giants teammates, was asked by ESPN’s Jordan Raanan about the Danny Dimes nickname. He admitted it “could be worse.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard it a little bit more recently,” Jones said. “I don’t know. It’s all right, I guess. There could be worse nicknames.”
Giants rookie wide receiver Darius Slayton said the Danny Dimes nickname is an “accurate description” of Jones and that he has used it a few times. However, Giants quarterback Alex Tanney said it’s more of a T-shirt kind of nickname than an everyday one.
“Two words. Kind of hard. But it has a good ring to it,” Tanney said. “It sounds like a good T-shirt or something.”
Exactly how popular is the Danny Dimes nickname after just one comeback win from the No. 6 overall pick. Two men have filed for a trademark for the phrase, though they are expected to be denied. John Messina, a Pennsylvania man, claims to have coined it the day Jones was named New York’s starter over Eli Manning.
“I stuck with it. It seemed to roll off the tongue. It’s a good one,” Messina said. “It’s funny that it stuck. It’s pretty cool [to be the originator]. It’s definitely giving me some pride. It’s pretty inconsequential, but I’m glad Daniel likes it. It’s good fun for everybody.”
Jones threw for more than 300 yards and scored four total touchdowns in his NFL debut on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so the buzz surrounding him is hardly a surprise. In fact, Jones has already accomplished something that Manning never did. The Danny Dimes nickname is pretty cool, but it will be up to Jones to make sure it sticks around.
