Daniel Jones’ 2023 season didn’t go as planned.

After a promising 2022 in which he posted a career-best 92.5 passer rating and propelled the Giants to their first playoff win since the 2011 season, the former No. 6 overall pick was on an upward trajectory.

But signs of slippage emerged after Jones played just four games into his four-year, $160 million extension.

Then came the injuries. Jones missed three games with a neck injury and then the rest of the year with a torn ACL suffered in Week 9.

Even when healthy, the 27-year-old’s play didn’t match how he looked the year prior.

His yards per attempt dropped to a career-low 5.7. His expected points added per play (an advanced stat published by RBSDM.com) ranked 39th out of 41 quarterbacks to play 200 or more snaps. His turnover-worthy play rate (an advanced stat from Pro Football Focus) went from 3.0 to 4.1 percent.

All of those trends are reinforced by watching every Jones snap from 2023 — tape that reflects a quarterback with spotty accuracy, who was too conservative and who was susceptible to bad decisions.

Those issues are mainly on Jones, but what also can’t be ignored is how little he was helped out.

The Giants’ revolving door of an offensive line — especially the absence of All-Pro tackle Andrew Thomas, who logged all of three quarters in Week 1 with Jones under center last year — allowed the third-most pressures and the most sacks in football by a wide margin.

What also didn’t help was a group of receivers that rarely got open or threatened defenses on a consistent basis.

Watching back the Giants’ 2023 offense isn’t for the faint of heart, but it’s tape that sheds clear light on why Jones struggled last year — and how things could potentially turn around in a make-or-break 2024.

Below are four overarching themes of Jones’ 2023 tape, with a corresponding sub-section of how they can be applied and/or improved this upcoming year.

Short throws

One of the foremost reasons why Jones seemed to take a step back was he consistently chose the easier passing option instead of airing the ball out deeper down the field. That especially applies to the short area of the field.

(It should be noted that early in his career, particularly as a rookie, throwing the deep ball was considered one of Jones’ strengths. But in hopes of limiting his turnover issues, Daboll’s predecessor, Joe Judge, and his offensive coordinator, Jason Garrett, stressed a more constrained, less risky approach, and Jones registered the NFL’s lowest interception rate in 2022.) 

In 2023, 71.9 percent of Jones’ attempts were either behind the line of scrimmage or within nine yards, according to PFF charting. That figure was at 65.9 percent the year before — still high, but not quite to the extreme extent of last season. Jones’ 58.1 percent rate of “short” throws was the highest in the league (minimum 90 attempts).

It’s understandable why Jones and the Giants threw short more often. A lot rests on having little time to block (more on that later). But it was also evident that the team’s best offensive rhythm came on slant passes, where Darren Waller and Darius Slayton feasted.

For instance, this red-zone play out of an empty backfield has great rhythm, with Jones hitting a two-step dropback before zinging one in to Isaiah Hodgins for the score.

But for as well as slant concepts and patterns worked for Big Blue, that can’t be the entirety of an offensive foundation.

What he needs in 2024: More middle of the field/deep throws

Jones needs to throw deeper down the field in 2024. A good place to start is in the intermediate range.

Last year, Jones’ medium attempt rate (throws of between 10 and 19 yards) dipped from 19.5 percent in 2022 to 14.4 percent, the fourth-lowest clip among quarterbacks with 20 or more attempts. Jones ignoring that area of the field leaves plenty of untapped potential in the Giants’ offense.

One way to better integrate the middle of the field is with dig routes, a cousin of slants. Jones demonstrated the ability to properly diagnose and execute digs throughout his short season, including on this play to Waller against Arizona.

Maybe the most alarming trend with Jones’ passing range chart, though, is not taking enough deep shots. Jones’ 6.9 percent deep (20-plus yards downfield) rate was the fifth-lowest among quarterbacks with 30 or more dropbacks. That’s a carry-over from 2022, when Jones’ deep rate (4.9 percent) was even lower. 

In virtually every game he played, Jones had at least one opportunity to throw a deep ball, usually either to Jalin Hyatt or Slayton. 

These three clips — a post to Hyatt in San Francisco, a go to Hyatt in Las Vegas and a corner to Slayton against Seattle — all featured an open receiver based on the coverage faced, but Jones not throwing the ball for some reason.

The Giants’ receivers were not good enough in creating separation in 2023, but they still had verifiable speed. Now with rookie deep threat Malik Nabers in the fray, there needs to be a concerted effort from both Jones and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka to take more chances down the field — particularly on early downs, where taking a risk makes more sense.

Captain Quick

Knowing how much Jones liked throwing to targets in much shallower regions, it might not come as a shock to learn that he also got rid of the ball very fast. While Jones’ average time to throw of 2.85 seconds didn’t rank among the quickest in the league, it’s noteworthy that he stood in the pocket for 2.5 seconds or less on 49.3 percent of his dropbacks — a figure that tied for eighth-highest in the NFL (min. 200 dropbacks).

The quarterback was considerably more effective when throwing faster, too, regularly appearing more decisive and accurate when not having to wait as long to deliver the ball. Jones’ PFF passing grade on attempts of 2.5 seconds or less was 66.0, as opposed to just 43.1 on plays that took longer than 2.5 seconds. That’s tremendous regression from the year before. In 2022, Jones’ grade was actually better over 2.5 seconds (70.6) than under (66.1).

What he needs in 2024: Hang in the pocket longer

Jones needs to adjust his approach and be more willing to sit back and let passing concepts develop, playing with a calmness deeper in the pocket. A lot of building that confidence will rely upon his offensive line, which had far too many plays that were instantly destroyed — such as this one, on which Jones had zero shot to stand tall.

What Giants fans and executives also need to see much more of in 2024 is Jones not being afraid to evade pressure without bailing from the pocket, even if it means taking a gamble. 

These clips of Jones stepping up are encouraging.

Jones often would dart out of the pocket instead of withstanding rushers. Even when he didn’t leave completely, Jones got skittish, ramping up his internal clock instead of playing with the poise that many of the league’s top gunslingers employ as the play breaks down. That habit of fidgeting needs to diminish greatly if Jones wants to remain a starter beyond 2024.

The good news is that there’s evidence of Jones being able to keep his eyes downfield while on the move and make improvisational plays, which is one of his strong suits. If Jones can roll out but keep his eyes downfield to hit receivers extending routes, that could prove to be a game-changer for the Giants’ offense.

Diminished accuracy

While Jones is at least partially responsible for both throwing shorter as well as getting the ball out faster, those facets of his game could also be attributed to Kafka’s scheme, which proved faulty for most of 2024. 

However, there’s little doubt Jones’ diminished accuracy was pretty much entirely his own doing.

A fundamental problem for Jones in 2023 was throwing behind receivers, even when they got open. That left a considerable number of yards on the table on plays such as this one to Waller, who had plenty of room to run if this ball were put on his front hip.

At times, the lack of precision led to some very costly mistakes. For instance, Seahawks corner Devon Witherspoon capitalized on a wayward pass to Parris Campbell for a 97-yard pick six on “Monday Night Football,” one of Jones’ most woeful moments of the year.

Jones sometimes tried to force the issue when nothing was open — generating either interceptions or should-be turnovers.

On too many occasions, Jones threw a ball into a contested zone or to a target in which a defender had strong leverage to make a play.

A perfect example was in Las Vegas, where Marcus Peters beautifully mirrored Slayton on this comeback route — and Jones still threw the ball there anyway.

One of Jones’ worst outings of 2023 came in the opening quarters in Week 1 against the Cowboys. The quarterback seemed out of sorts due to Dallas’ pressure, launching several highly inadvisable throws.

Making this kind of heave off your back foot when there are three defenders in the vicinity is almost definitely not going to work out:

The same applies on this throw, which was picked off impressively by Stephon Gilmore. There’s very little justifiable reason why Jones, chased by two rushers, is trying to throw this ball back in bounds — where the probability of a spectacular play is low — instead of launching it to the sideline.

What he needs in 2024: Turn back the clock

The positive is that the former first-rounder has shown he can be considerably cleaner. During Jones’ career-best season in 2022, he was highly effective at finding open targets and getting the ball there with good timing and placement.

Jones’ 75.2 percent adjusted completion percentage last year ranked 20th among 49 quarterbacks (min. 100 dropbacks). But the year before, Jones sat first at 81.1 percent.

With a better supporting cast and more health, expect Jones’ accuracy to tick back up in 2024.

Effective on the ground

One of the few elements of Jones’ play that was consistently good in 2023 was his mobility. The superficial numbers (40 carries for 206 yards and one touchdown) might not show it, but Jones was a strong runner.

Jones’ 82.2 PFF rushing grade tied for seventh among non-running backs with at least 40 attempts. That metric is largely on par with how he did the year prior (84.6).

Where Jones really shines is using the ground to create positive passing plays out of nothing. Jones is a shrewd runner, able to take off and go if nothing through the air is open, , which often proved to be a best-case scenario knowing how ineffectively the Giants’ offense operated in 2023.

Jones’ ability to detect lanes and navigate open space renders him a plus runner as a quarterback, especially in avoiding major collisions.

Because Jones is still a real threat in the run game, defenses do need to be aware of his mobility and game plan for it. That’s something that Brian Daboll and Kafka should continue to utilize in designing run concepts like read options, run-pass options (RPOs) and other misdirection plays.

Jones’ ability to create with his legs also bodes well for his ability to remain an effective thrower on the run. That opens up additional possibilities in the play action and bootleg game, where Daboll/Kafka can trust Jones.

What he needs in 2024: Keep running, especially when it makes sense

Coming off a torn ACL, it would be easy for Jones to adopt a more conservative playing style and stay in the pocket. But that’s counter to what’s worked for him in the past.

Jones, who has practiced without limitations in camp, must continue to integrate his legs into his game. Whether that means scrambling, designed runs or throwing out of the pocket, all are major boosts to the Giants’ offense. Especially with Saquon Barkley no longer in blue and the team’s running back situation still being sorted out, Jones’ carry rate may actually need to go up if the Giants offense wants to look more as it did two years prior.