In Year 3 with Giants, Daniel Jones needs to produce . . . for Dave Gettleman's sake

In many ways, Dave Gettleman knows that his fate could very well be tied to Daniel Jones’. The third-year quarterback is in his second season under Joe Judge, he’s got a slew of new weapons at his disposal, and Saquon Barkley’s return is imminent. All good news for the Giants, but a sign, too, that this is beginning to look like a make-or-break year – both for Jones’ future with the franchise, and for Gettleman’s job security.

So when he was asked about Jones before training camp Tuesday morning, the Giants general manager minced no words. "We believe in Daniel."

Gettleman added that when he moved to acquire an extra pick in the first round of the 2022 draft, it was with no intention of eventually replacing Jones, who he still believes to be the future of the franchise, with the ability to lift the Giants from the dregs of the last few seasons.

"We’re excited to see what he's going to do in the second year in the system," Gettleman said. "Before this last year, it was his third system in three years, so this'll be the second year in a system. You know how diligent the kid is, we’ve talked about it all the time. He works just as hard on the field as he does off the field. He's more comfortable, he’s more prepared. It’ll be fun to see what happens when we finally give him a full complement of players out there."

That includes Barkley, returning from a torn ACL , though the Giants have yet to give a timeline on when exactly we’ll see him again ("he’ll be ready to go when he’s ready to go," Gettleman said.) It also includes additions like first-round pick Kadarius Toney, fellow receiver Kenny Golladay and tight end Kyle Rudolph. Toney, however, missed team OTAs while negotiating his rookie contract and has seen little practice time, dealing with both an undisclosed injury and a COVID-19 diagnosis.

But no matter who Jones has around him, it’s no secret that Year 3 is the year people truly evaluate a quarterback’s future trajectory. And while Jones wasn’t spectacular last season, he wasn’t embarrassing, either. Not embarrassing, however, is not the bar the Giants want to settle for this year.

"We certainly hope" this is the year they find out Jones is the quarterback of their future, Gettleman said. "The game is different. Our game is different from the college game. It’s very different. He’s got all the physical skills, he’s got all the mental skills and I’m seeing a lot of good stuff out here in the fact that last year was his third consecutive year in a different system. His decision making is quicker out here, he’s getting rid of the ball quicker. He’s throwing the ball well. I think he’s making progress like every other young kid and I think we’ll have a pretty good idea when the season is over."

The Giants and owner John Mara might have a similarly good idea about Gettleman’s future, too. He was the guy who drafted Jones sixth overall in 2019 and the man responsible for the 2018 draft class – players like Barkley, drafted second overall, who’s an undeniable talent but also plays in an injury-prone position with limited longevity; Will Hernandez, no longer a starter, and Lorenzo Carter, also coming off an injury. Gettleman has won just 15 games in his three seasons as GM, though that’s hardly all on his shoulders.

Asked if he needed to win more games to keep his job, Gettleman hemmed.

"Objectively speaking, I’m not going to put a win total or a number on it," he said. "I don't think that we've done a lot of things. I feel like I really love Joe and the process that he's brought and that we've brought…Really and truly, my goal when I got here was whenever I leave here, and however I leave here, that we've set this team up on the field and off the field. That's been my goal and I feel like we've done that. I’m excited to see what's going to happen."

For his part, Mara gave his (conditional) support when asked if Gettleman was on the hot seat.

"We’re all on the hot seat, with our fans in particular," he said. "But no, I wouldn’t say [Gettleman is]…Let’s see what happens, let’s see what happens during the season. Let’s see what kind of progress we’ve made. Let’s see if we’ve won some games and we’ll address that after this year."

By Laura Albanese

laura.albanese@newsday.com@AlbaneseLaura

Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.