The New England Patriots got an up-close look at Daniel Jones before the 2019 NFL Draft, and that might give them a bit of a headstart in their preparation for Thursday night's Week 6 game against the New York Giants.
The Patriots had Jones in for a pre-draft visit, and head coach Bill Belichick was impressed with the Duke quarterback. Jones was projected as a late first-round pick, but the Giants liked him enough to select the Blue Devils star at No. 6 overall.
"We had a great visit," Belichick said Monday in a media conference call, per Art Stapleton of NorthJersey.com. "He spent most of the day here, spent a lot of time with our offensive coaches: (offensive coordinator) Josh (McDaniels), (assistant quarterbacks coach) Mick Lombardi, guys that work with that position on the offensive side of the ball. We had a good visit, great conversation, kind of talked about a lot of things. Very mature, certainly a good understanding of the Duke offense and coach (David) Cutcliffe, and some of the things that they were doing there.
"Again, good grasp of the offensive system -- protections, routes, route concepts and why they're using different combinations in certain situations. And actually, I think it was kind of a change of plans at the end of his visit, I think he was supposed to go somewhere, but then he ended up going to the Giants from here. And so, when I saw that, I kinda, I could figure out there was something going on there."
The Giants were met with a ton of criticism for taking Jones as early as they did, but the decision has proven to be a smart one so far.
Jones became the Giants starting quarterback in Week 3, and he's 2-1 since taking over the job. Being a starting QB in the massive media market that is New York City is challenging, and Belichick understands that as well as any coach given his experience on the Giants staff in the 1980s. He's impressed with how Jones has handled that role to this point.
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"He's an impressive player and a very impressive person. We had a great visit," Belichick said. "Playing quarterback in New York is not the easiest thing in the world, but he's got a lot of maturity and a good head on his shoulders, has good perspective on football and overall leadership and the position that comes with that role on and off the field. I'm sure he's done well and will continue to do well."
Jones' toughest test will come this week when he goes up against an elite Patriots defense that leads the league in yards allowed per game, points allowed per game, sacks and takeaways.
The rookie QB struggled in Sunday's Week 5 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. He completed just 21 of 38 pass attempts for 182 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He'll need to play much better if the Giants are going to hand the Patriots their first loss of the season Thursday night.
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