The good news is that Indianapolis Colts starting quarterback Daniel Jones ascended a tier in the Athletic’s latest quarterback rankings (subscription) and had the greatest improvement among his colleagues.
However, the bad news is that he’s still ranked below average among all league starters—coming in at 21st overall:
21. Daniel Jones
Jones made the largest year-over-year jump in average vote (+1.1) while climbing eight spots in the rankings. He set career bests in yards per attempt, passer rating and EPA per pass play before suffering a torn right Achilles tendon in December.
“I thought he looked broken in New York (with the Giants),” an offensive coordinator said. “I thought he looked functional in Indy. He looked like a 3.”
Jones, who is practicing without limitations at training camp, received more Tier 2 votes (eight) than the rest of his career combined (six). Quite a few voters, including defensive coordinators who faced Indianapolis, credited Colts coach Shane Steichen for outstanding game plans.
“Daniel Jones is interesting,” one defensive coordinator said. “I think he showed that when you are not protected and you do not have all the answers given to you, it is hard to operate at this level of football.”
The implication was that Indy protected Jones, and Steichen gave him answers.
“Indy was perfect for him,” another defensive coach said. “The best thing he ever could have done was get with Shane. Steichen has the best mix of tempo versus non-tempo, versus huddle calls, versus ‘Hey, listen, this one’s on two, this one’s on three.’ He tells his quarterback how to change the pace of a game, and he does it as well as anybody right now.”
Jonesproved he could execute that offense at a high level, although his production tapered later in the season, after defenses had more video to study. One exec thought Jones’ history of lower-body injuries could threaten his mobility longer term.
“What Steichen wanted to do scheme-wise, he was not able to do with the guys he had before Daniel Jones,” said another defensive coordinator whose team faced the Colts. “From an intelligence standpoint, getting them in the right plays, going through the right key progressions, that is where Daniel Jones showed he got it.”
The “glass half full” crowd will tell you that when fully healthy, in his first-year in Indianapolis with Colts head coach Shane Steichen, that Jones was in the midst of a career year—leading a historically elite league offense on a team that once sat 8-2.
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Unfortunately, a fractured fibula and season-ending Achilles limited his mobility regarding the former, and ultimately ended his season regarding the latter. It coincided with the Colts late season collapse, where Indianapolis would lose 7 straight games and fall out of playoff contention again.
Despite missing the Colts last four games because of the Achilles, Jones was still named a Pro Bowl alternate. He completed 261 of 384 pass attempts (68.0%) for 3,101 total passing yards, 19 passing touchdowns, and 8 interceptions, as well as amassed 5 rushing touchdowns during his 13 starts this past season.
The “glass half empty” will tell you that Jones had already shown some signs of regression before the lower leg injuries and is a ‘system quarterback’ under Steichen—heavily leaning on star workhorse Jonathan Taylor as the offense’s true focal point to open up his passing game after-the-fact.
The hope has to be that Jones regains his prior first half form, but there may be some truth that he’s a system quarterback, but one could make the argument that so are other Pro Bowl quarterbacks such as Brock Purdy and Jared Goff—both of whom have had more consistent high level success under other talented offensive minds.
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In fact, each has even made a Super Bowl as a starting quarterback.
To me, that’s not the same slam that it appeared to be just a few years ago.
If there’s another silver lining for Colts fans, it’s that the other quarterbacks in the AFC South: Trevor Lawrence (16th), CJ Stroud (20th), and Cam Ward (25th) aren’t significantly better or in Ward’s case, still considered a bit worse. It doesn’t appear as this division is ruled by a Patrick Mahomes type quite yet.
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