IND Indianapolis Colts · QB· #17

Daniel Jones

Age
29
Height
6'5"
Weight
230 lbs
College
Duke
Drafted
2019, No. 6 overall (NYG)
Experience
8th NFL season

44

Overall grade

31st of 40 quarterbacks

Well below typical

below average; 50 is average

Grades updated Rechecked every few hours on game days

The read

The number holding him back is EPA per dropback: −0.19, 36th of 40.

Written from his numbers, not from film. 5 games are behind the season figures.

How he stacks up

Every graded stat at a glance, against all the quarterbacks in the league.

  • Sack rate4.9%10th of 40
  • Bad throws12.3%13th of 38small sample
  • Success rate40%31st of 40
  • Accuracy over expected−2.8 pts32nd of 38small sample
  • EPA per dropback−0.1936th of 40

Left is the worst at his job, right is the best, and the line down the middle is average. The bubble is his percentile: 90 means better than nine in ten qualifying quarterbacks. Faded bars are still small samples.

How he has progressed

Where he has ranked among quarterbacks after each week, and every game behind it.

WorstMiddleBestrecent12345Week 1: 3rd percentileWeek 2: 13th percentileWeek 3: 16th percentileWeek 4: 8th percentileWeek 5: 10th percentile10th

Season rank holding near the 10th percentile since Wk 1.

The line is his season-to-date rank among players at his position after each week, from 100 (the best) to 0 (the worst). It rises when he passes other players, not when he has one big game. Early weeks are noisier because fewer plays are behind them. The shaded weeks are the recent stretch.

EPA per dropback game by game
WeekOpponentThat gamedropbacksSeason rank after
1vs BAL−0.46333rd pct
2vs KC+0.123013th pct
3vs HOU−0.174016th pct
4vs WAS−0.45358th pct
5vs PIT−0.004510th pct

One game is a small sample: a single stat over 37 dropbacks can swing on a handful of plays. Shaded rows are the recent stretch.

The numbers, in context

Each one against every quarterback with at least 40 dropbacks. Right on the strip is better.

EPA per dropback

Well below typical

−0.19

36th of 40 quarterbacks · bottom 13%

Expected points added: how many points the play added to (or took from) the offense's scoring chances, given the down, the distance and the field position. Sacks, scrambles and throwaways all count, so it is everything he does when he drops back, not just the completions.

The box score: Passing yards and touchdowns ignore down, distance and sacks, so a 6-yard checkdown on 3rd-and-12 looks like a good play.

Does it show up in winning? Across 151 games league-wide, teams won 84% of the time when their quarterback was in the best third on EPA per dropback, and 28% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: −0.20 (80) vs −0.18 beforeevenWithin the noise

Sample still growing · 183 dropbacks · true level likely −0.38 to −0.00

Success rate

Well below typical

40%

31st of 40 quarterbacks · bottom 25%

How often a dropback gains enough to keep the offense on schedule: about 40% of the yards needed on first down, 60% on second, all of them on third and fourth.

The box score: Yards per attempt cannot tell a gain that helped from one that did not.

Does it show up in winning? Across 151 games league-wide, teams won 74% of the time when their quarterback was in the best third on success rate, and 36% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 36% (80) vs 43% before−6.6grade points downLeaning that way

Sample still growing · 183 dropbacks · true level likely 34% to 46%

Accuracy over expected

Well below typical

−2.8 pts

32nd of 38 quarterbacks · bottom 19%

His completion rate compared with what each throw was expected to be, given depth, pressure and where the receiver was. +3 means he completes 3 more of every 100 throws than an average passer would on the same throws.

The box score: Completion percentage rewards the quarterback who throws short and punishes the one who throws deep.

Does it show up in winning? Across 145 games league-wide, teams won 70% of the time when their quarterback was in the best third on accuracy over expected, and 31% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: −5.1 pts (71) vs −0.9 pts before−4.8grade points downWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 164 throws · true level likely −8.4 pts to +2.9 pts

Bad throws

Above typical

12.3%lower is better

13th of 38 quarterbacks · top 35%

The share of his attempts that Pro Football Reference's charters called a bad throw: off target, not just incomplete. Fewer is better.

The box score: An incompletion also blames him for a drop or a throwaway.

Does it show up in winning? Across 124 games league-wide, teams won 66% of the time when their quarterback was in the best third on bad throws, and 39% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 14.3% (35) vs 11.7% before−2.3grade points downWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 138 attempts · true level likely 7.6% to 17.0%

Sack rate

Well above typical

4.9%lower is better

10th of 40 quarterbacks · top 25%

Sacks as a share of his dropbacks. It is the quarterback and the line together. Fewer is better.

The box score: A sack total depends on how often he drops back.

Does it show up in winning? Across 151 games league-wide, teams won 55% of the time when their quarterback was in the best third on sack rate, and 37% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 3.8% (80) vs 5.8% before+7.4grade points upWithin the noise

Sample still growing · 183 dropbacks · true level likely 2.2% to 7.7%

How he plays

Tendencies: how his game differs from the quarterbacks around him. These are not better or worse, only different, and often say as much about the offense or defense he plays in as about him.

Average depth of throw

Style

7.3 yds

Throws it short, more than most quarterbacks. A typical one is 8.0 yds.

How far past the line of scrimmage the ball travels, on average. It is a style, not a skill.

Sample still growing · 174 throws

Deep throws

Style

11%

Right around the middle of quarterbacks: a typical one is 11%.

The share of his throws that travel 20 or more yards in the air.

Sample still growing · 174 throws

Play-action dropbacks

Style

30%

Leans on play-action, more than most quarterbacks. A typical one is 23%.

How often a dropback starts with a fake handoff.

Sample still growing · 138 dropbacks

Blitzed

Style

35%

Right around the middle of quarterbacks: a typical one is 32%.

How often defenses send an extra rusher at him.

Sample still growing · 138 dropbacks

Leaves the pocket

Style

10%

Stays in the pocket, more than most quarterbacks. A typical one is 18%.

How often he is outside the pocket when he throws or is sacked.

Sample still growing · 138 dropbacks

Playing time

He has played in 4 of his team's 4 games with snap counts, on the field for about 100% of the team's offensive plays when he plays.

Each column is a game: the share of his team's offensive snaps he played. 80% means about 8 of every 10 plays. “Out” means he did not play; a question mark means snap counts are not posted yet. Shaded games are the recent stretch.

Game by game

Every game this season: how it ended for his team, how much he played, his box score, and the advanced numbers from that one game. One game is a small sample, so read the right-hand columns as a snapshot, not his level.

Daniel Jones game by game
GameResultSnapsAttCmpYdsTDIntSackedEPA/dropbackSuccessCPOEBad throws
Wk 1 vs BALL 23–41100%3319149112−0.4636%−5.1 pts9.1%
Wk 2 vs KCL 30–33100%3021199110+0.1250%+3.0 pts6.7%
Wk 3 vs HOUW 19–17100%4024211114−0.1743%−0.8 pts17.5%
Wk 4 vs WASW 30–13100%3518124012−0.4529%−6.3 pts14.3%
Wk 5 vs PITL 22–34–4524266001−0.0042%−4.4 pts–

The box score

The traditional totals, with where each ranks among quarterbacks. A total rewards volume, which is why the advanced numbers above matter.

Daniel Jones box score totals
StatTotalRank
Pass attempts1839th of 40
Completions10610th of 40
Passing yards94916th of 40
Passing touchdowns327th of 40
Interceptions thrown46th of 40
Times sacked918th of 40

Players with a similar profile

The quarterbacks whose grades are closest to his across the same stats. Similar means similar numbers, not the same style of play.

Ranks are among players at the same job who have enough plays to be graded. Grades and rankings come from play-by-play, charting and snap-count data, so they cannot see blocking, route running or assignments. See how the grades work.

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Data: nflverse play-by-play, CC BY 4.0. Also FTN charting, Pro Football Reference advanced stats, snap counts and injury reports, all through nflverse. Calculations and charts by Raiders Rundown.