A reader asked, so we let the Big Blue View staff answer

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is always a subject of debate — a controversial player despite showing a vanilla public personality and never drawing attention to himself.

Big Blue View reader David Smith asked a simple question. “How many [current] QBs would you straight up trade Daniel Jones for?”

I thought it was worth putting the question to the Big Blue View staff. Below, their answers and explanations.

Valentine’s View

It’s not a long list.

Josh Allen
Joe Burrow
Lamar Jackson
Trevor Lawrence
Patrick Mahomes
Justin Herbert
Jalen Hurts

That’s it. Basically, that is the list of annual MVP candidate quarterback who are in or entering their prime.

Some others you will wonder about:

Dak Prescott — He’s had better talent around him. In my view, he’s not better than Jones.

Tua Tagovailoa — Too many injury concerns.

Aaron Rodgers — Too old. I’ll take the 26-year-old Jones for the long term.

Kirk Cousins — He’s better than you think, but he’s 35 and we have seen his best.

Jared Goff — Another quarterback who is better than you think, and he will turn 29 this season. Still, I’m taking Jones’ upside.

Justin Fields — Hasn’t shown enough.

Kyler Murray — Be serious.

DeShaun Watson — No chance.

Geno Smith — Nice story, but turns 33 this fall.

Rivka Boord

I agree with Ed’s list, but I think Deshaun Watson needs to be discussed further. His deplorable behavior disqualifies him, as John Mara made clear. Still, Watson’s first four years in the NFL were undeniably better than Jones’ 2022 season. Watson played poorly in 2022 and didn’t play in 2021, but I think it’s a discussion based purely on talent and trajectory.

My view is that there are about seven or eight passers in the top two tiers of NFL quarterbacks, and the rest are in some sort of jumble that will depend on how the cards fall that particular season. That broad category includes Jones, Dak Prescott, Russell Wilson, Tua Tagovailoa, Jimmy Garoppolo, Jared Goff, Matthew Stafford, Derek Carr, Kirk Cousins, and Geno Smith. Controversially, I believe Lamar Jackson falls into this category, as well, and Jalen Hurts could end up here if he follows Jackson’s post-2019 trajectory.

Mahomes, Burrow, Allen, and Herbert are no-brainers, I think. Lawrence is pretty much there, too. Rodgers’ age is disqualifying. Hurts’ 2022 ceiling seemingly makes it a worthwhile trade, but we’ll see. Watson could potentially be in the second tier but is disqualified regardless.

If all the other passers are in the same rough bucket as Jones, I don’t think there’s an argument to be made that it’s a worthwhile trade. Jackson is the lone exception because of the track record of his 2019 season combined with his running ability.

Chris Pflum

I’m going to break the fourth wall here for a minute:

I’m sure there’s a cadre of fans for whom the only acceptable answer to the question is “1 — Pat Mahomes”.

But I’m going a bit meta and say my answer is: “How many quarterbacks played better than Jones in 2023?” And of that set of passers, which ones are on rookie deals, better veteran contracts than Jones, or present so much value that you do what you have to in order to make it work.

If you’re rooting for the New York Giants, the team and franchise, and not any individual who wears the uniform, then a hypothetical trade would be about a direct upgrade for the team. So any quarterback who plays similarly and is on a more team-friendly deal, or plays well enough to justify a more expensive deal, is who you trade for.

Sitting here, we don’t know if any veterans will take a step forward (ie: Geno Smith last year) or fall off a cliff (such as Russell Wilson). Nor do we know if any young passers like Trevor Lawrence, Jordan Love, Kenny Pickett, or Justin Fields will take a leap.

Likewise, we also don’t know how Jones himself will play in 2023. He took strides last year when in rhythm. The combination of a very QB-friendly (and risk-averse) passing scheme, a reliable running game, and the fact that when he did have a misfire, it didn’t hurt the team, allowed him to post the best year of his career. Will he be able to maintain that efficiency if the Giants ask him to throw more and further down the field? Will opposing defenses have answers to the schemes in which Jones thrived as a passer and runner last year? The team itself recognizes that they weren’t just “one piece away” and were very aggressive over the 2023 off-season, and took more than a few risks in the process. What happens if more of those gambles don’t pay off than do?

If the answers to those questions don’t go the Giants’ way, then there are more quarterbacks for whom a straight-up trade looks better.

On the other hand, if those questions go the Giants way then the pool of players for whom a straight-up trade of Jones is good for the Giants shrinks, probably considerably.

Tony Del Genio

This is not the same as the question, “Where does Daniel Jones rank among NFL quarterbacks?” My answer to that question is near the bottom of the top 10 or just below. To answer David’s question, in addition to talent we must also consider age, supporting cast, contract situation, injury history, and (alleged) character issues.

My list of QBs I’d trade him for straight up is:

Patrick Mahomes — Borderline HOFer now, possible GOAT in a few years. So much fun to watch. Seemingly onerous 10-year contract a few years ago now looks pretty good.

Josh Allen -- Jones is sort of Allen-lite: Not quite the arm strength, not quite the running threat, not quite the career success, better with Daboll than without him, needs a great receiver to shine. I’ll take the real thing over the lite version.

Trevor Lawrence -- To use a popular current phrase, I’ve seen enough. Not the runner Jones is, but excellent passer, didn’t wilt in big moments once the light came on for him in mid-season. Low cap number the next three years. Yes, please.

Joe Burrow -- This-s-s-s close to a Super Bowl win with a terrible offensive line and a coach calling plays who gives away to the defense whether it’s run or pass. He’ll get the bag next year, but I’ll figure it out somehow. Love his competitiveness, confidence, unflappability.

Lamar Jackson — Has already gotten the bag, but unrivaled running threat and showed he can pass well when given receivers. This year he might even get a modern offense to work from. More prone to hero ball than I’d like, but worth the price of admission.

Justin Herbert -- Also has already gotten the bag, but hasn’t had the team success to go with it. I still worry something is missing, but maybe it was just his conservative offensive coordinator. I have to bank on his tremendous arm talent and toughness.

I won’t go for Aaron Rodgers because of age, Jalen Hurts because he is Jones with a great OL and great receivers, Dak Prescott for similar reasons, Deshaun Watson because of...well, you know, Tua because he’s one more concussion away from his career being over, Goff because he’s not mobile and is older, Cousins because he’s older and is missing the clutch gene, Geno Smith because of age, Justin Fields because I don’t know yet if he can throw and read defenses at the NFL level.