Alex Tanney had a front-row seat for the start of Daniel Jones' career. Six years later, he sees the potential for Jones – if he were to earn being the Colts' starting quarterback – to take his career to the next level in Indianapolis.

Tanney, now in his second year as the Colts' passing game coordinator, was the New York Giants' third-string quarterback in 2019. That was Jones' rookie year; the Giants selected him with the sixth overall pick and with the goal of having him eventually replace two-time Super Bowl winner Eli Manning.

"The first day he came in, he was very observant, very smart, always asking questions, wanting to know how to do things the right way," Tanney said. "Ultimate pro."

Tanney and Jones formed a close bond in 2019, with Tanney taking on a mentor role with Jones. While Jones learned plenty from observing Manning, he also prepared to eventually start in part by working with Tanney behind the scenes.

The Giants benched Manning in favor of Jones after two games in 2019, but Tanney remembers Jones' professionalism helping the team navigate a delicate situation.

"I don't think it probably would've gone as smooth as it did if Eli didn't have such respect for Daniel and him doing things the right way, and (Jones) being so respectful and appreciative of Eli," Tanney said. "It ended up transitioning there pretty smoothly."

The Giants let Tanney go before the 2020 season, and in 2021, he joined the Philadelphia Eagles' coaching staff. That's where he met Shane Steichen, then the Eagles' offensive coordinator, and in 2024, Steichen brought him aboard his coaching staff with the Colts.

Tanney kept up with Jones over the last few years, having conversations and playing golf in the offseason together, and was impressed with how Jones handled the highs and lows of his six seasons with the Giants. While Jones and the Giants made the playoffs in 2022, and shredded the Minnesota Vikings in a Wild Card round victory, he also dealt with injuries, ineffective offenses and, in 2024, ultimately being benched and released in 2024.

Jones will still have to compete to earn the Colts' starting quarterback job during training camp, when the team expects Anthony Richardson to return at some point from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for veteran minicamp this week. But from Tanney's viewpoint, both in 2019 and in 2025, Jones will give himself an opportunity to compete to win that gig because of the things he faced while with the Giants.

"Any adversity you go through, especially playing quarterback in the NFL, there's really two ways you can grow from that — good and bad," Tanney said. "And just knowing the type of person that Daniel is, the adversity that he had to overcome throughout the ups and downs of his however many years he was in New York, just knowing the type of person he is, knowing that he's growing the right way and it's making him a better leader, a better person, a better player. And that does not even take into consideration the talent the guy has — he can make all the throws, he's extremely sharp, taking command in and out of the huddle, and then after the snap as well.

"There's plenty of examples of quarterbacks moving on to a different team and finding success."