Daniel Jones Fantasy Overview

2024 Summary

Production & Fantasy Finishes

Jones started the first 10 games of last season for the Giants. He was benched after a Week 10 loss to the Panthers — and then released a few days later. Jones latched on with the Vikings but didn’t play the rest of the season.

He averaged 13.5 fantasy points across his 10 games, which ranked 19th among QBs. Jones averaged just 207 passing yards and 0.8 passing TDs per game. But he ran for 265 yards and two scores. Only five QBs had more rushing yards through Week 10.

Efficiency Metrics

Among 34 QBs with 250+ pass attempts last season, Jones ranked:

• 24th in completion rate
• 9th in adjusted completion rate
• 33rd in yards per attempt
• 25th in Pro Football Focus passing grade

Offensive Context

Jones didn’t get much help from his supporting cast last year. 10.0% of his passes were dropped — the second-highest rate among 34 qualifying QBs.

Jones also operated behind an offensive line that finished the season 26th in ESPN’s pass block win rate and 28th in Pro Football Focus’ pass-blocking grades.

Historical Production & Trends

2024 was just more of the same from Jones. He’s been an underwhelming passer and underrated runner through six NFL seasons.

Jones has completed a solid 64.1% of his career passes, but his 6.5 yards per attempt ranks 37th among 40 QBs with 1,000+ pass attempts over the last six years. Jones has never topped 6.8 yards per attempt in a season. His two worst per-attempt averages (5.7 and 6.1) have come the last two years.

Jones sports a laughably low 3.1% career TD rate — dead last among those 40 qualifying QBs. A couple seasons of low TD rates can be bad luck. But six years points to a shortcoming with the QB.

Jones has been a productive runner as a pro, though, averaging 31.1 yards per game for his career. His 5.5 yards per carry ranks seventh among 43 QBs with 100+ carries since 2019.

That’s helped Jones be a useful fantasy QB on occasion. Here are his career finishes in points per game:

• 2019 - 15th
• 2020 - 32nd
• 2021 - 21st
• 2022 - 14th
• 2023 - 44th
• 2024 - 19th

Injury History

Jones has missed 22 games across his six NFL seasons with ankle, hamstring, neck, knee, and head injuries. His 2021 season ended with cervical neck strain, and he tore his right ACL in 2023.

2025 Expectations

Projected Role & Competition

The Vikings were reportedly interested in bringing Jones back for 2025, but he instead opted to sign a one-year, $14 million deal with the Colts.

Jones likely saw an easier path to playing time in Indianapolis, where he’ll battle with QB Anthony Richardson. HC Shane Steichen said in early April that Richardson and Jones will split first-team reps throughout the offseason, suggesting that this is truly an open competition.

Although Jones has underwhelmed as a passer, he beats Richardson in most key metrics:

• Completion rate (64.1% to 50.6%)
• INT rate (2.1% to 3.7%)
• Passer rating (84.3 to 67.8)
• Success rate (42.8% to 37.9%)

Richardson beats Jones in yards per attempt (6.9 to 6.5) and TD rate (3.2% to 3.1%). He’s also a more powerful and explosive runner. And he has the edge of experience in the Colts offense.

But Richardson will need to be a significantly better passer this year to hold off Jones for the starting job. Richardson completed an ugly 47.7% of his throws last season.

Supporting Cast

The Colts return last year’s top-five targets in WRs Michael Pittman, Josh Downs, Alec Pierce, and Adonai Mitchell, and RB Jonathan Taylor.

They made a big upgrade at TE, using the 14th overall pick on Penn State’s Tyler Warren. He’s coming off a huge 2024 season, racking up 104 catches for 1,233 yards and eight TDs. Warren is especially dangerous after the catch and should make an immediate impact for the Colts.

It’s an above-average pass-catching corps with the upside to be a top-10 unit.

Coaching & Offensive Scheme

HC Shane Steichen and OC Jim Bob Cooter return for their third season in Indianapolis.

Steichen is regarded as one of the best offensive minds in the game, particularly for his ability to adjust his scheme to the personnel. He deployed a pass-leaning offense with QBs Philip Rivers and Justin Herbert in Los Angeles in 2019 and 2020 but then went run-heavy with QB Jalen Hurts in 2021 and 2022.

We’ve seen that flexibility in Indianapolis, too. Last year, the Colts passed on just 47.1% of their plays in Richardson’s 10 games. That pass rate spiked to 59.0% in the other seven games with QB Joe Flacco.

We’d expect something in the middle of those two extremes if Jones is under center.