Rex Ryan has been on target with his Daniel Jones takes so far.
Now he’s calling another shot as the conductor of the Jones hype train.
The former Jets coach called Jones “the best quarterback in New York” the morning after Jones turned in an impressive starting debut and led the Giants to a 32-31 comeback win over the Buccaneers, meaning he would take him over Sam Darnold.
“The reason I’m saying it is because I think his fundamentals are much better,” Ryan said Monday on ESPN’s “Get Up.” “I love Sam Darnold, don’t get me wrong. I still think he’s going to be a tremendous player. But I think this guy right here [Jones] has got competitive greatness in him. I think he’s going to be a superstar.”
Darnold’s sophomore season with the Jets has been derailed by mononucleosis, and one game from the Giants rookie has Ryan seeing stars. Starting for Eli Manning, Jones completed 23-of-36 passes for 336 yards and two touchdowns. He also used his legs to his advantage, running for a pair of touchdowns, including the game-winner with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The Giants had a chance to draft Darnold with the No. 2 pick in 2018, but passed and took Saquon Barkley instead, dropping Darnold to the Jets at No. 3. Then the Giants nabbed Jones at No. 6 in April, a pick that was ripped by most critics, though they are starting to come around after one game.
Back in April, Ryan said he thought Jones would be ready when he got his opportunity. By Monday, he was feeling proud of himself for the prediction.
“I mean, nobody could see this coming,” Ryan said facetiously. “Look, I’ll be honest, I never wanted to see him come in this early in the season. But now I get why they did it. They realize what they have here. He was ready to perform at this level sooner actually than I thought. I thought it was going to be the bye week and then he was going to come in.
“But I knew this kid, he’s got the markings of a superstar.”