Can a quarterback succeed in his sixth season? A Giants’ QB has done is before

Giants history says it’s possible

Big Blue View readers were overwhelmingly in favor of the New York Giants’ selection of wide receiver Malik Nabers with the sixth pick in the NFL Draft Thursday night. And why not? Nabers was universally regarded as one of the top three receivers in the draft, was the top-rated of the three by some analysts, and was in everyone’s top 10 of prospects overall. Nabers’ outstanding ability to get separation and yards after the catch is just what the doctor ordered in today’s explosive play-dominated NFL. For Giants fans he surely brings back memories of Odell Beckham Jr., arguably the most exciting player in Giants’ history.

There’s just one problem. The quarterback question remains. Joe Schoen never had a chance at Caleb Williams or Jayden Daniels. He apparently never had a realistic chance at Drake Maye either:

What is in Schoen’s lap, however, is that he could have had J.J. McCarthy (or Michael Penix Jr. or Bo Nix) and chose to pass on them in favor of Nabers.

Football people like to espouse the “best player available” philosophy when it comes to drafting and say you shouldn’t draft for need. When they’re on the clock, though, general managers tend to get the football equivalent of carb cravings and reach for perceived needs even when they’re not justified at the slot at which they are drafting. How else to explain six quarterbacks in the first twelve picks? Schoen didn’t do that. He took what was arguably the best player available, and by the way filled a big need at the same time – the total absence of impact players on the Giants’ offense.

The quarterback situation is as muddy as ever, though, partly because Dave Gettleman reached in 2019 to draft Daniel Jones. If any of McCarthy or Penix or Nix become great NFL QBs, Schoen may be judged harshly in retrospect, because a majority of Giants fans have concluded that Jones cannot be the guy. After all, he’s had five seasons to prove himself, and other than a promising rookie campaign (admit it, you drank the Kool-Aid after that debut at Tampa Bay) and a totally unexpected 2022 season in which he got the Giants to the Divisional Round and finished sixth in the NFL in QBR, he’s mostly been mediocre to subpar. To make things worse, he’s missed time with injuries in every season but one.

Yet here we are. Maybe the Giants will draft Spencer Rattler tonight, or Michael Pratt or Joe Milton or whoever tomorrow. Maybe not. Either way, Jones is your starter this season if he’s fully or even mostly recovered from his ACL. How can a Giants fan have hope for the future?

I offer you: Phil Simms.

In 1979, when the Giants had come off their 15th consecutive non-playoff season and a new management and coaching regime had been brought in, Simms was their first draft choice. His career at Morehead State, not exactly an NFL pipeline, was anything but distinguished:

He wasn’t on many teams’ radar, although Bill Walsh had his eye on him (but had no first round draft pick that year). The Giants surprised most of the NFL by taking him at No. 7. The scene was documented by the Spokane, WA. newspaper, the Spokesman-Review, which despite being 3,000 miles away, was well aware of the mindset and reputation of Giants fans:

Courtesy of The Spokesman-Review

Simms surprised fans, though, by having a pretty good first season. He didn’t play until Week 5, but started 11 games after that, going 6-5. The stats weren’t impressive, though: 50.6% completion rate, 13 TDs, 14 INTs, 66.0 passer rating.

The 1980 season was a disaster. Simms started 13 games but missed the last three with a separated shoulder as the Giants went 3-10 in his starts. Things were better in 1981 as the Giants went 9-7, their first winning season in nine years, and they even made it to the Divisional Round. Nonetheless, Simms missed the last six games with another separated shoulder. The 1982 strike-shortened NFL season was a mess, but Simms tore ligaments in his right knee in training camp and missed the whole thing anyway. New head coach Bill Parcells benched Simms for Scott Brunner in 1983. Simms eventually replaced him in game 6 after Brunner played poorly, but he almost immediately injured his thumb when it hit a player’s helmet and missed the rest of the season.

Simms was not treated kindly by the fans during these first five years, according to his Wikipedia entry:

During his first few years on the team, Giants fans were merciless in their treatment of Simms, who they felt was a disappointment. He commented that his wife “had to sit up in the stands and listen to them cuss me.”

Having only won 14 games in his first five years in the league, it wouldn’t have been a surprise if general manager George Young had tried to replace him. In 1983, he passed on Jim Kelly and Dan Marino to take cornerback Terry Kinard at pick No. 10, and he didn’t trade up to No. 1, where John Elway was taken. (What a draft for QBs!) The 1984 draft was much leaner for quarterbacks. The Giants took Carl Banks with the No. 3 pick, and a QB did not come off the board until Boomer Esiason in Round 2. Young did grab Jeff Hosteler, though, at pick No. 59 in Round 3.

Whether Young viewed Hostetler as competition for Simms or just an insurance policy against yet another Simms history, that combination worked. Simms finally broke out in 1984, taking a noticeable jump in all aspects of his performance:

Courtesy of Pro Football Reference

The Giants made the playoffs in three consecutive seasons, winning it all for the first time in the 1986 season. Simms went on to have a stellar Giants career, although it was Hostetler who took the Giants the final mile in their second Super Bowl season of 1990 after yet another Simms injury curtailed his season.

Can Giants history repeat itself with Daniel Jones? It’s asking a lot, but Simms’ and Jones’ Giants journeys have been eerily similar through their first five seasons. With the addition of Malik Nabers to a wide receiver room that already has Jalin Hyatt, Wan’Dale Robinson, and Darius Slayton, Jones will have no shortage of options in the passing game. George Young tried to do the same for Simms, drafting Earnest Gray in the second round in 1979 after taking Simms. Young’s later attempts to fortify the receiving corps were less successful, though: Danny Pittman, John Mistler, Melvin Hoover, Frank Magwood were the only other receivers added until Lionel Manuel was taken in Simms’ sixth year.

You wouldn’t want to bet that Daniel Jones will turn into Phil Simms this season. That having been said, you wouldn’t have wanted to bet in 1983 that Phil Simms would be the MVP of a Super Bowl and outplay John Elway three seasons later. Ya gotta believe … for one more season, anyway.