Giants' Jones brushes off draft-slot criticism, excited to learn from Eli

The New York Giants' selection of Daniel Jones at No. 6 overall in last week's draft has been criticized across the league, but the rookie quarterback's focus is elsewhere.

"I haven't paid too much mind to (the draft reactions)," Jones told SiriusXM NFL Radio's "Late Hits," according to Dan Salomone of the Giants' website. "I think that's key to playing quarterback, to being consistent as a quarterback, is keeping your head in the same place. I think that just comes down to your confidence in yourself, and your confidence has got to come from inside of you. I think if you're looking externally for confidence, then you're also going to be affected by the negative as well."

Jones was one of the more polarizing prospects in the 2019 class. Some teams had the former Duke passer as the No. 1 quarterback on their draft boards, while others reportedly didn't place him in the top five, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

New York general manager Dave Gettleman said he was certain that two teams would have taken Jones if the team had waited until pick No. 17 to select him.

The first-year Giant is excited for the opportunity to learn from presumed 2019 starter Eli Manning.

"I think it's a tremendous opportunity for a young guy to go into a place where there's a future Hall of Famer who's done it for a really long time at a really high level and definitely knows what it takes," Jones said. "So that to me is a big advantage ... I'm looking forward to it, just being teammates with him, being able to learn from him in the building every day. I think that's a special opportunity.

"I've spoken to (Manning) once (since the draft) and he just congratulated me, said he's excited to be up there. I think I understand he's got a job to do, I've got a job to do, so we're going to do the best we can to help the Giants win as many football games as we can, and I'm certainly happy with whatever my role is."

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