Shaq Barrett: Buccaneers 'Excited to Play Daniel Jones' in Giants QB's 1st Start

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are anxiously awaiting their opportunity to welcome New York Giants rookie Daniel Jones into the NFL. 

Appearing on NFL Network's Good Morning Football, Bucs linebacker Shaq Barrett said his team is "excited to play" against Jones on Sunday. 

The Giants announced Tuesday they were turning to their first-year quarterback after Eli Manning's struggles through the first two games. 

Jones' selection at No. 6 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft was met with instant backlash by Giants fans and analysts. 

Bleacher Report's Matt Miller reported after the draft that multiple sources in the NFL called Jones the most controversial first-round pick. 

"There is no way he was going anywhere else in the top 17 picks," one executive for an AFC team told Miller. "We run mock drafts and run through the scenarios, and I hadn't heard of one team that wanted Jones other than them." 

The early returns for Jones in preseason were encouraging. The 22-year-old went 29-of-34 for 416 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in four games. 

Now, Jones will take the lessons he learned from the exhibition season into real games.

The Bucs defense could present a lot of problems because they've been good against the pass through two games. Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles' group has allowed the third-lowest completion percentage (55.1) and just one touchdown pass this season. 

Barrett was a standout in Week 2 with three sacks in Tampa Bay's 20-14 win over the Carolina Panthers to earn NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. 

Tampa Bay will host Jones and the Giants Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET.