Seemingly everything went wrong for the New York Giants in 2023. And the disappointment pretty much began from the jump.

In their Sunday Night Football season opener against the rival Dallas Cowboys, their first possession ended with a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown. After losing that game at home 40-0, they lost running back Saquon Barkley to injury late in Week 2, sparking an onslaught of ailments that derailed the rest of the year.

Daniel Jones, a victim of a neck injury and torn ACL, could not escape the team-wide trauma. While head coach Brian Daboll says his starting quarterback is rehabbing well from the wounds, he refused to declare Jones would be fully ready for the start of training camp in July, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Jori Epstein.

Shortly after Daboll’s press conference, Jones essentially guaranteed he’d be on the field when the Giants battle the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1. The sixth-year pro doesn’t have to partake in the entirety of training camp to start versus Minnesota, but getting his feet wet there and in the preseason would presumably be more beneficial than not in gauging his true health.

Even after earning a four-year, $160 million dollar contract following his first career playoff win in 2022, Jones has never been thought of as a top-tier signal-caller. His numbers, specifically Intended Air Yards per Attempt, paint him as a middling passer whose effectiveness wanes the more he’s asked to push the ball down the field.

This established history makes the franchise’s selection of Malik Nabers, who can thrive as a YAC threat in the short-to-intermediate areas, look like a quality addition to their oft-criticized receiving corps. However, it likely limits the variety of routes the talented rookie will be asked to run and raises questions regarding the fit of Jones with the big-bodied deep-threats littering his weapons cache.

While Nabers will be effective in the role he’ll play for Jones, pigeonholing him represents a quick way to turn what should be a sure-hit prospect into a potential bust. But beyond him and Wan’Dale Robinson, nobody fits what Jones does well. Even Allen Robinson’s above metrics, which look to line up on the surface, were career-lows in a career-worst season as a miscast figure with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

These numbers may also indicate why Jones’ cohesion from 2022 training camp with Darren Waller — a 6’6″, effective seam-stretching tight end throughout his career — didn’t translate to regular season play. There is, quite simply, a misalignment between what type of receivers Jones needs to succeed and which ones the Giants have given him.

In a season so important for both him and Daboll, Jones isn’t positioned to make good on his contract. Their brutal early season schedule only makes matters worse. Barring an unexpected shift in mindset and quality play in a previously poor aspect of his game, New York will be starting over at HC and QB again next offseason.