How Daniel Jones went from Giants draft bust to Colts starting QB over Anthony Richardson

Billy Heyen

How Daniel Jones went from Giants draft bust to Colts starting QB over Anthony Richardson image

Daniel Jones got off to a furious start to his Indianapolis Colts career with a big first half on Sunday.

It probably had some New York Giants fans wondering: Who is this, and what did he do with Daniel Jones?

It's been quite the NFL ride for Jones, that's for sure.

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Why Daniel Jones became an NFL Draft bust for Giants

The Giants picked Daniel Jones No. 6 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Duke.

He ended up going 24-44-1 in his six years with New York.

His best season was 2022, when he went 9-6-1 and completed 67.2% of his passes.

But then it was 1-5 in 2023 and 2-8 in 2024, and that was it.

The Giants released him midway through the 2024 season.

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Why Colts gave Daniel Jones starting job over Anthony Richardson

Daniel Jones signed with the Minnesota Vikings after his release by the Giants. There, he learned from Kevin O'Connell, the head coach in the midst of revitalizing Sam Darnold's NFL career.

Whatever Jones learned, it worked.

He showed up in Indy and beat out third-year QB Anthony Richardson for a starting job.

And in his first half with Indy, Jones was nearly spotless.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle