On Wednesday, the New York Giants will continue their pre-draft meetings when they host Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker. The visit has many fans questioning what it could mean about the team’s views on Daniel Jones, so it’s important to look at the larger context of this visit.
After extended negotiations, the Giants were able to re-sign starting quarterback Daniel Jones to a four-year deal back in early March. The team has made it abundantly clear that they view Jones as their franchise quarterback.
“We’d like Daniel to be here,” general manager Joe Schoen said in his postseason press conference. “He continued to improve throughout the season. We’re pleased with how he played this season.”
“He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do,” added Daboll. “He’s done a really good job with operating and executing our offense. He’s made strides in a lot of different areas. He’s been a good leader for us. He’s played the quarterback position well for us, and I’m happy we had him.”
So why meet with Hendon Hooker who is one of the big-name quarterbacks available in this draft and was on pace to be a Heisman Trophy finalist before tearing his ACL in the final weeks of the college football season?
The visit from Hooker could serve one of two purposes. The most likely is that the Giants are just doing due diligence on a player they have liked for a while. By learning more about Hooker as a person and having more information on his recovery from offseason knee surgery, the Giants could take advantage if he were to fall in the draft or maybe become available in a trade in a year or two, as is happening with Trey Lance in San Francisco right now.
The Tennessee quarterback had thrown for 3,135 yards and 27 touchdowns with just two interceptions in 11 games before the injury, but will now likely miss most of his rookie year, which will make him more of a developmental prospect. Considering he’s also 25 years old, that makes his potential draft value hard to pin down. It’s possible he slips into the middle rounds of the draft and could be an option for the Giants.
That leads us to the second option that the Giants are evaluating whether or not Hooker could provide competition for Daniel Jones ahead of the 2024 season.
Jones took major steps forward this year, but it was also his only truly strong season as a pro. The Giants are no doubt keenly aware of that, which you can see from the way they structured his new contract.
While Jones’ contract on the surface is a four-year and $160 million deal, Tom Pelissero reported shortly after the deal was done that the contract is structured in a way that pays Jones $82 million over his first two seasons. Jones receives a $9.5 million base salary in 2023 before that jumps up to a $35.5 million base salary in 2024. The Giants then have an opt-out.
Structuring the deal that way allows Schoen to avoid being locked into an expensive long-term contract if Jones doesn’t develop as they would like. It’s a move that his former boss Brandon Beane used to use regularly with the Buffalo Bills.
Should Jones not take the steps forward in 2023 that the Giants expect of him, they would only be on the hook for one more year of his deal. In this scenario, Hooker would be recovered from his surgery by then and would give the Giants the ability to pivot from Jones if they don’t feel he warrants the salary his contract would pay him in 2025 and 2026.
Again, the visit is most likely due diligence, but with the NFL Draft so close, the rumor mill is certainly running at warp speed. For the first time in a while, the Giants seem well-positioned to make moves based on maximizing value and not feeling forced to fill gaping holes on their roster.
That’s an exciting place to be.
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