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Giants 2024 Position Group Report Card: Quarterbacks

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Giants Quarterbacks

The New York Giants quarterbacks weren’t an inspiring bunch going into the season and weren’t an inspiring bunch during the season. 

The quarterback position was a major question mark for the Giants heading into 2024. Daniel Jones was appointed the starting job after coming off a torn ACL and 2023 season where he threw two touchdown passes and six interceptions in six games after signing a 4 year, $160 million extension. 

The only debatable competition they brought in for the six-year veteran was former Broncos and Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock- who is widely looked at as a backup around the league. They also retained fan-favorite Tommy Devito- who showed promise and won three games in a row in 2023 against the Commanders, Patriots, and Packers. Some fans might argue that his three-game win streak helped put the quarterback room in the position it is now. All three quarterbacks, and free-agent signing Tim Boyle, saw significant action this season. 

This column is going to grade each player individually, as a positional group, look ahead for 2025, and end with the three best plays of the season. Quarterbacks get all the glory and all the scrutiny, so buckle up for this one Giants’ fans.

Giants 2024 Position Group Report Card: Quarterbacks

Here’s how the grading system works: 

  • A: Position group played at an elite level, likely with some pro-bowlers, all-pros, and quality depth
  • B: Position group was a positive, pro-bowl alternates and quality depth 
  • C: Position group was mostly positive, although no pro bowlers or game changer
  • D: Position group was unplayable at times, very little depth, and negative impact on games
  • F: Position group was mostly unplayable at the NFL level

How did the Giants quarterbacks do?

Overall, not great. The eye test, box-score stats, and advanced metrics all point to a quarterback room in desperate need of a change.  

Daniel Jones

Daniel Jones started 10 games, the most out of the group, and finished the season with eight touchdowns, seven interceptions, and 79.4 passer rating. All of which were not far off from his career averages in that sample size, but there were times it felt like Jones was unplayable. Jones averaged just 6.1 yards per attempt and passed up stretch throws against the Cowboys, Steelers, and Bengals that could have changed the outcomes. His lack of willingness to take chances stopped the Giants from possibly winning some games in the early part of the season- a motif that plagued Jones’ big-blue tenure. 

While he certainly had some fun moments in his two wins: a 236 yard, two-touchdown performance against Cleveland and a 257 yard, two-touchdown outing against Seattle, it was clear Jones lost confidence. Jones’ ceiling was going to be a few good games sprinkled in between stretches of disaster games. The box-score stat splits speak for themselves. Four touchdowns, zero turnovers in two wins; four touchdowns, nine turnovers in eight losses. 

Overall grade: D, position group was unplayable at times, very little depth, and a negative impact on games.

Tommy Devito

After the team granted Jones’ release on November 22, they bypassed Drew Lock who had been the number two quarterback the entire season, and went to Tommy Devito. The move caused some scrutiny amongst fans and even Lock himself. The wanted to recreate the Tommy Cutlet magic from 2023 while evaluating a young quarterback for the future.  At the time, the team was 2-8 and coach Brian Daboll thought that a significant change was needed. He told Darryl Slater of NJ Media that “Tommy gave us a spark [in 2023] to not just the offense, but the team.” 

Did Devito provide a spark?

Unfortunately, the Tommy Cutlets magic ran out. In his lone start against the Buccaneers, he went 21 of 31 passes for 189 yards. He didn’t make it through the following week against the Ravens due to a concussion. The Giants lost those games 30-7 and 35-14, respectively. 

Devito finished his sophomore season with a 70.45% completion percentage, 5.8 yards per completion, an 85.1 passer rating, and 27.2 QBR. 

Grade: F, position was mostly unplayable at the NFL level. 

Drew Lock

The Giants signed Drew Lock in the offseason to be Daniel Jones’ backup. He spent the 2023 season with the Seattle Seahawks and was part of the infamous Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos trade package in 2022.

His inconsistent decision-making, lively arm, and scattered moments of greatness make it hard for teams to trust him consistently.

All of which were on display this season with Big Blue. In seven appearances, Lock finished the season with six touchdowns, five interceptions, and a 75.5 passer rating- 29th out of 37 qualified passers. He struggled in key metrics like yards per attempt and his CPOE. 

Still, he had the fourth-highest EPA against the Colts in an offensive explosion in week 17. 

Grade: D

BONUS: Tim Boyle

He only appeared in one game this season, but he the former UConn Husky threw rookie Malik Nabers a beautiful back shoulder touchdown in clean-up duty against the Ravens.

Grade: N/A

How did the team prepare for the quarterback room?

In July, Giants brass caught scrutiny for publicly trying to find Daniel Jones’ replacement in the inaugural Offseason Hard Knocks.

Footage caught General Manager Joe Schoen having trade discussions with Patriots president of football operation Elliot Wolf. It was obvious that the Giants were trying to move up from the sixth pick to the second pick- presumably for Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels. 

Instead, they landed, in Schoen’s words, “a weapon for Daniel” in Malik Nabers. While the LSU product certainly had a memorable rookie season, it wasn’t enough to overcome poor quarterback play and keep the Giants competitive. 

Despite inconsistent and times unplayable performances, Daniel Jones never had any real competition during his Giants’ tenure. Schoen’s failure, or reluctance, to bring in a legitimate back up option- whether it be retaining Tyrod Taylor or allowing Russel Wilson to keep for the starting job- was a fool’s errand that casted a storm cloud over the Giants before the season even started. 

Grade: F

Who will be the Giants Quarterback in 2025?

John Mara emphasized a need to overhaul the quarterback room this offseason, saying it’s an “utmost priority.” 

Certainly an elephant in the room type of comment from the owner because the only quarterback currently under contract is Tommy Devito. 

It’s unlikely that the team makes Devito the unquestioned backup in 2025- if they even retain him.

Ideally, Schoen and Daboll will want to draft “their guy” in April. However, there’s two quarterback-needy teams ahead of them in what’s considered a weaker draft class. There’s no guarantees they’ll have that opportunity.

Veterans like Justin Fields, Russel Wilson, Kirk Cousins, or Jameis Winston make sense for short-term options. However, they’re just stop-gap options with varying degrees of upside. 

Regardless of who starts for Big Blue next season, it’s imperative that the team gets more efficiency and explosiveness out of their signal caller. 

Best Plays of the Season

Main Image: Eric Hartline – USA Today Sports

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