Report offers big hint about how Giants view Daniel Jones

East Rutherford, NJ October 22, 2023. Daniel Jones of the Giants on the sidelines in the second half. Photo credit: Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

The New York Giants chose not to take a quarterback in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but apparently that does not mean Daniel Jones is guaranteed to enter next season as the team’s starter.

In a recent episode of his “Move the Sticks” podcast, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said he believes Drew Lock has a legitimate chance to beat out Jones for the starting job in New York. Jeremiah said he was told that when the Giants were evaluating their options for quarterbacks that might be available when they picked at No. 6 in the draft, they were comparing those prospects to both Jones and Lock.

“I believe Drew Lock has a really good shot on winning that job. … They were comparing Daniel Jones and Drew Lock, emphasis on Drew Lock, to the QBs that were going to be there (at 6) and the line for them was Drake Maye,” Jeremiah said.

Here's @movethesticks on Giants: "I believe Drew Lock has a really good shot on winning that job. … They were comparing Daniel Jones and Drew Lock, emphasis on Drew Lock, to the QBs that were going to be there (at 6) and the line for them was Drake Maye." Hoo boy!

— Gregg Rosenthal (@greggrosenthal) May 1, 2024

The Giants signed Lock in March to a 1-year deal that will pay him $5 million fully guaranteed. Lock chose New York over re-signing with the Seattle Seahawks. According to Seahawks general manager John Schneider, one of the reasons Lock left Seattle is that the Giants told the 27-year-old he would have an opportunity to compete for a starting job.

Lock addressed Schneider’s remarks and said they were inaccurate, claiming the Giants told Lock he would be signing with the team to serve as a backup.

Jones is owed $35.5 million in guaranteed money for next season. Many believe the Giants will give him one more shot to be their starter largely because of the huge salary, but the team has hardly sounded committed to Jones.

The question, of course, is whether Lock represents an upgrade over Jones. The Giants would have to feel that Lock is clearly the better option to enter the season with Jones making more than $35 million as a backup. But if Jones struggles early in the year, a quick change certainly is not out of the question.