He is the man who helped develop Peyton Manning and coached Eli Manning, and when you listen to him talk, respected quarterback guru David Cutcliffe gives you the unmistakable impression that his latest quarterback prize is Daniel Manning.
So when you ask the Duke head coach for the advice he would give Giants GM Dave Gettleman about Daniel Jones, it is this:
“I would say, ‘Dave, I don’t think there’s a gamble,’” Cutcliffe told The Post. “He’s gonna do the things it takes to get it done. He’s what everybody is looking for. It’s hard to know that, in their shoes.
“But if you ask me directly, that’s what I would tell him. And have no fear of the answer. I’m not gonna say something just ’cause he played for us. My name is associated with it as well. I’ve told guys before that ‘This isn’t the guy that’s gonna get the job done.’
“But this one?
‘You’re gonna be glad you took him.’”
Asked if Jones can be a star in the NFL, Cutcliffe said: “Yes, I do. Just from past experience, I think he’ll be a star in the league. I do.”
In various different ways, the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Jones reminds Cutcliffe of both Manning Bros.
“Daniel’s a tough, physical specimen,” Cutcliffe said. “He’s been hit more than I would want him hit. I’ve never seen him not get back up and compete. Under no circumstance would you ever see him flinch.
“He’s used his mind to get the ball out on time, which is very similar to Peyton. He’s a great pre-snap read guy, he’s a student of the game.
“To me, he may be the quietest guy in that first round, because he is mentally tough. Can you imagine trying to be a young guy and have swag in New York? Come on now. It eats you up the first time you had a bad game, and you’re gonna have a bad game. Daniel’s just gonna work. He’s got a lot of drive, believe me. It’s never over until it’s perfected. He is a determined, hard-working, detail-oriented guy but there’s not ego. And I think the lack of ego in just the loving of the game and the competition helps you in New York.
“It’s kinda like Eli. Eli takes a beating at times. He’s not just gracious publicly, he’s that way privately, but I don’t know anybody that’s more driven to work than Eli Manning. I think there’s some similarity between the two there in that regard.”
He has a telling anecdote in which Jones might remind you more of Peyton than Eli.
“He can get pissed in a hurry,” Cutcliffe said.
Cutcliffe recalls purposely challenging Jones when he was a redshirt freshman starter.
“I didn’t like the way we were playing. … I thought we were playing soft,” Cutcliffe recalled. “He was young. I think he was questioning his own confidence. So instead of babying him, I went over there and I ripped him like I’m not supposed to rip any player, let alone a quarterback.
“And I challenged his toughness, his manhood. And I got the exact response I was hoping for. He looked at me right in the eye and he said:
‘You better understand I am tough. And I’m tough enough.’
“I loved it. I apologized to him [the next day] because I did go beyond the boundaries but I said, ‘I needed to know, and now I do know.’ ”
Jones broke his collarbone in the second game this season. He was back 20 days later with a plate and screws to stabilize the bone connecting his left arm to his body.
“Never looked back, never complained, never shied away from a hit,” Cutcliffe said.
His leadership style?
“Well he’s a two-time captain,” Cutcliffe said. “He’s the first one in the weight room, he’s the first one down for any offseason workout, going to the indoor and throwing and throwing. The players are gonna respect his work ethic. They also respect his talent, all players respect talent, and he’s loaded with talent.
“He has no fear, he’ll address a player if they’re not giving what they should and he goes about it sometimes not as vocal as others, but he’s been a tremendous leader for us. We’ll miss that portion of him.”
There are analysts who have a second-round grade on Jones. There have been criticisms of Jones’ arm talent.
“I don’t know if they’ve ever paid attention or seen him in person,” Cutcliffe said. “He’s got a really strong arm. He’s amazingly accurate. I do this for a living. I’d take 10 of him in a row if I could get ’em.
“I may be wrong, but some of that opinion comes from him being at Duke. It comes from not being in the center of all of the national televised games. Daniel’s got plenty of arm, and even more accuracy. “
It also comes from Jones’ lack of a supporting cast. Eli weathered a similar storm at Ole Miss. Jones is considered by some a more athletic Eli.
“He might outrun [Kyler] Murray if they’re going head to head,” Cutcliffe said.
Jones has observed the Manning Bros. up close and personal.
“When Eli or Peyton have come in to do a week’s worth of work with me, Daniel’s on the sideline watching every minute of it,” Cutcliffe said. “He will have an explosion quickly as to his growth and development is gonna continue in a big way.”
NFL legend Gil Brandt has said that Jones reminds him of Peyton coming out of Tennessee. Cutcliffe was Peyton’s quarterbacks coach and OC there, and Eli’s head coach at Ole Miss.
“I think they are physically very similarly built,” Cutcliffe said. “I think that without question he’s got that type of mentality. Throwing motions aren’t by any means identical, but they both are amazingly accurate.
“Wherever he ends up, he’s gonna end up with a really outstanding career, no doubt in my mind.”
Eli was the first pick of the 2004 NFL Draft. Jones will not be the first pick of the 2019 NFL Draft. The Giants pick sixth and 17th.
“I think he’s built emotionally, mentally and physically to be a great player in that league,” Cutcliffe said.
The Mannings’ former maestro to the general manager of the New York Football Giants:
Draft him.
“The best is yet to come,” Cutcliffe said, “and it’s gonna keep coming for a while.”