What are Giants waiting for? Start Daniel Jones, bench Eli Manning

Is there a good reason why the New York Giants shouldn’t start Daniel Jones in Week 1? I can’t think of one.

General manager Dave Gettleman was ripped for selecting the Duke quarterback sixth overall, when most analysts believed he would have been available when the Giants picked again at No. 17. After one flawless preseason game -- Jones was 5-for-5 for 67 yards passing against the Jets -- the “reach” taunts have faded, replaced by ratcheted-up hype.

The rookie's strong debut has Giants fans clamoring to see more from Jones, who was 11-for-14 passing for 161 yards and one touchdown against the Bears on Friday night. If team president and CEO John Mara has his way, buzz won’t matter, and Jones won’t see meaningful action until 2020. He said as much when asked by reporters about the ideal 2019 scenario for Eli Manning.

“I hope Eli has a great year and Daniel never sees the field. That would be an ideal world. You’d like to see that. Again, at the end of the day, it’s going to be a decision by the head coach as to when or if Daniel ends up playing this year,” Mara said.

That’s a bad philosophy, for a number of reasons.

The first is the most obvious, whether Mara wants to admit it or not. The Giants aren’t going anywhere this season. They have pieces in place, such as all-world running back Saquon Barkley. But despite losing eight games last season by a TD or less, they’re at best the third-best team in the NFC East.

Second, there’s an easy argument that Manning was one of the main problems last season. He was 20th in the league in adjusted net yards per pass attempt, at 6.21. His passer rating of 92.4 was actually a tick below the league average of 92.9. In the Giants’ 11 losses, that number dipped to 84.2. He couldn’t drive the ball down the field, something that irked Odell Beckham Jr. and prevented the Giants’ offense from being anything more than average.

Pro Football Focus’ breakdown of Manning’s 2018 was even less kind. He ranked 28th of 35 qualifying passers in throwing from a clean pocket; 34th when under pressure. His arm and legs showed their age.

New York’s offensive line isn’t particularly distinguished, but it's not atrocious either. Starting Jones wouldn’t be throwing him to the wolves like the Houston Texans did in 2002 with David Carr, when the rookie was sacked a record 76 times.

In addition to being 16 years younger than Manning, Jones is a much better athlete. He might make some poor decisions, but he’ll also make plays with his feet that Manning can’t.

Lastly, starting a rookie passer isn’t dooming him to failure. If a quarterback gets selected in the first round, the expectation is that he’s going to play. Kyler Murray will start from Day 1 in Arizona. Had Baker Mayfield done so last season in Cleveland, the Browns may have made the playoffs. Jets QB Sam Darnold’s first pass ended up a pick-six, but his second- and third-to-last starts last season were among his best. Holding a clipboard and soaking it all in sounds nice in theory, but there is no substitute for experience.

Manning doesn’t warrant some sort of career victory lap. The Giants would be doing themselves a disservice to give him one. Their duty is to figure what they have in Jones as soon as possible. If he validates their faith in him, they can travel the same path as the Rams and Browns and try to surround him with high-end, free-agent talent while he’s still on a cheap rookie contract.

If he isn’t, they can at least get to work trying to fix him, or start thinking about Plan B. Jones cooling his heels on the bench while Manning wastes Barkley’s talents with check-down passes is pointless.

If it really is Pat Shurmur’s decision, he should make it sooner rather than later, and name Jones the starter. It won’t be popular with some fans and media, and it will open him up to criticism when Jones struggles. What it will be, though, is the right call.