Duke coach insists Daniel Jones would have been taken before Giants’ second pick

New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman has defended using the sixth overall pick in the NFL Draft on Daniel Jones by insisting there were two other teams that would have taken the former Duke quarterback before the Giants picked again at No. 17, and Jones’ college coach says that is the truth.

In an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio Tuesday morning, Duke coach David Cutcliffe said he had inside information that he cannot go into detail about that convinced him Jones would not have been available when the Giants made their second pick of the first round.

"No. I know things that I can't reveal, but he would've gone well before that."

-Duke Head Coach David Cutcliffe with @charlieweissr and @BobPapa_NFL when asked if Daniel Jones would have been there when the #Giants picked again at #17

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— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) May 1, 2019

“I know things that I can’t reveal, but he would have gone well before that,” Cutcliffe said. “There were people that quietly had their heart set on him.”

That is similar to what Gettleman said when he claimed he “knows for a fact” that two teams picking between No. 7 and No. 17 wanted Jones. Some have speculated that Cutcliffe may have even been Gettleman’s source for that information, as a college coach would want his quarterback to be drafted as early as possible.

There are probably three teams that picked between the Giants’ first and second picks that would have been in the market for a quarterback. One of them was the Redskins, but team president Bruce Allen already called out Gettleman and said Washington got the player it wanted all along at No. 15 in Dwayne Haskins. The only others could have been the Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos.

Like Washington, the Broncos reportedly got the top QB on their draft board when they took Drew Lock in the second round.

Gettleman has been crucified in a number of different ways for not using the No. 6 pick on a pass-rusher and waiting until No. 17 to get Jones, and the only ones we have heard say other teams would have picked Jones before 17 are him and Cutcliffe. That certainly isn’t going to be proof enough for Giants fans that Gettleman handled the situation as well as he could have.