Former Vols OC David Cutcliffe and Texas QB Arch Manning get dragged into debate about underachieving NFL QB
Former Tennessee Vols offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe and Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning were mentioned on ESPN's First Take last week during a debate about New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones. Jones, a first round selection by the Giants in the 2019 NFL Draft, hasn't exactly lit up the league during the first five years […]
Former Tennessee Vols offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe and Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning were mentioned on ESPN's First Take last week during a debate about New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones.
Jones, a first round selection by the Giants in the 2019 NFL Draft, hasn't exactly lit up the league during the first five years of his career.
The former Duke standout is 22-36-1 so far during his career as a starter. And there's little reason for optimism that he's suddenly going to lead the Giants on a deep playoff run. In fact, there are rumblings that the recently-signed Drew Lock could challenge Jones for the starting quarterback job in New York in 2024.
On First Take last week, co-host Shannon Sharpe suggested that the only reason Jones was a first round pick in 2019 is because he was coached in college by Cutcliffe. And he also said that Jones might not even be as good as Arch Manning right now.
"If Daniel Jones did not have Peyton Manning's offensive coordinator, David Cutcliffe, he probably would've been a third or fourth rounder," said Sharpe. "Let's be all the way real with that. Because when you look at him, come on now. That's Eli (Manning) and — well he (Cutcliffe) coached Eli, he coached Peyton and we know what he did with those guys. Well you didn't get Eli or Peyton."
"Hell, he might not even be Arch Manning," added Sharpe.
Ouch. That's probably tough for Jones to hear. But outside of the Arch comparison (we have no idea how good Arch will or won't be yet because Quinn Ewers is still the starter at Texas), Sharpe isn't wrong. Playing under Cutcliffe certainly helped Jones' draft stock. And so far, Jones has been a subpar quarterback in the NFL.
If the Giants could do the 2019 NFL Draft over, there's no chance they take Jones again in the first round. And I doubt they would in the second or third round either.
