The Giants and Jets lock horns in their once-every-four-years matchup Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

Both teams, of course, have a young quarterback — rookie Daniel Jones for the Giants, second-year pro Sam Darnold for the Jets. Jones has started seven games, Darnold 18.

So which quarterback has a brighter future? Or are they both doomed to struggle?

We decided to put together a round-table discussion — Jets beat writer Matt Stypulkoski, Giants beat writer Matt Lombardo, and NFL analyst Darryl Slater — to discuss those questions.

Here’s what our experts think:

OK, let’s start with the present, and then we’ll get to the forecasting. Which quarterback is better right now — Darnold or Jones?

Lombardo: Jones looks closer to a finished product than Darnold, which should be alarming to the Jets and their fans because the Giants’ rookie has made 11 fewer starts. Jones still needs to improve his ball security and decision making from the pocket, but there have been glimpses of why the Giants drafted him sixth overall. Darnold had some accuracy and turnover concerns coming out of USC. But now, he seems to be regressing in those areas. It’s still early for Jones and Darnold, but if you had one game to win this season, I would take Jones over Darnold.

Stypulkoski: Jets fans won’t like this, but I’m going to lean Jones here. Both of these guys have turnover issues, no doubt. And both have been a bit inconsistent. But the eye test seems to show Jones looking a lot more comfortable running his offense than Darnold currently is operating his. Darnold’s happy feet and bad habits have gotten the better of him this season. And even in the games when he’s played decent, he’s mostly been ineffective. Save one game, against the Cowboys, he’s been unable to get this offense in rhythm. The Giants have plenty of their own issues, but Jones at least seems to get that offense clicking on a semi-consistent basis.

Slater: Jones this season has 11 touchdowns, eight interceptions, eight lost fumbles, and an 82.8 rating. Darnold’s stats — six touchdowns, nine picks, one lost fumble, 70.5 rating. His career rating is now 75.5. Not good. Obviously, stats don’t tell the entire story. And Darnold surely has a better understanding of an NFL playbook than Jones does right now. But it’s hard to argue with the two Matts on this one. Jones is having a feast-or-famine rookie year, yet he’s had more flashes of success than Darnold in 2019. Jones is simply performing better. It’s clear.

As we all know, a supporting cast matters a lot for a young quarterback. So who has more talent around him?

Lombardo: Darnold. Saquon Barkley and Le’Veon Bell are a bit of a wash in the backfield, but the Jets have done a better job of giving Darnold pass-catching options who can get separation. Robby Anderson, Demaryius Thomas and Jamison Crowder are simply more consistent than Sterling Shepard, Golden Tate and Evan Engram, who have yet to take the field together this season. Darius Slayton has plenty of upside and is building a strong rapport with Jones, but he has yet to turn that chemistry into consistent production. The Giants have a slight edge along the offensive line, but Darnold’s weapons have much more upside.

Stypulkoski: It’s really, really close. Barkley and Bell in the backfield is basically a wash, as Matt mentioned. Neither team has a ton of great wide receiver options, but I think the Jets’ receivers are fairly comparable to the Giants’ group. The tiebreaker might be tight end. Engram is productive. But the Jets’ Chris Herndon has yet to play this year. Edge to the Giants there. They also have the better offensive line, which is equally — if not more — important. That doesn’t mean the Giants’ line is good by any stretch, but at least Dave Gettleman doesn’t have to replace all five starters this offseason, like Joe Douglas might need to do. This Jets line can’t pass protect or run block at all. That’s undoubtedly been a major issue for Darnold.

Slater: Jones does. And that’s part of the reason why he is performing better. The Giants have issues at offensive tackle, yes. But at least their entire line isn’t a joke — which is the Jets’ problem. It’s easy to overlook line play at times. (Try telling that to Darnold, as he runs for his life.) The Jets are learning the hard way that you can have prominent names like Bell and Crowder and Anderson around a young quarterback, but it doesn’t matter if you can’t block.

A legit coaching staff makes a big difference for guys like Darnold and Jones, as well. Do the Giants or Jets have a better staff right now for molding a young quarterback?

Lombardo: Give the Giants this: For all of coach Pat Shurmur’s flaws, John Mara mainly hired him because he believed he could develop Eli Manning’s successor. Shurmur was on Andy Reid’s staff with the Eagles during Donovan McNabb’s rookie season, and he also got the most out of journeyman Case Keenum in 2017, when the Vikings reached the NFC title game. The Giants also have offensive coordinator Mike Shula, who played quarterback. Slight edge to Shurmur and Shula over Adam Gase and Dowell Loggains, but both staffs seem destined to get fired because they can’t get the most out of a young quarterback.

Stypulkoski: Oh, yikes. Talk about picking your poison. At this point, Shurmur and Gase both appear deeply flawed and destined for failure in this market. Both have also failed before in other places. But I’ll give the slight edge to Gase here, considering he has a playoff berth and 10-win season under his belt — even if that 2016 season in Miami feels like a long-lost fluke these days.

Slater: Shurmur has a better track record than Gase when it comes to maximizing a quarterback’s talent. The main example, of course, is Keenum in Minnesota. Gase couldn’t do much with Ryan Tannehill in Miami. And maybe, as it turns out, that wasn’t entirely Tannehill’s fault. Gase put up big numbers with Peyton Manning in Denver. But how much of that actually had to do with Gase’s coaching acumen? It’s fair to wonder, as Darnold flounders. This is Gase’s first time working with a high-profile young quarterback. And so far, Gase is failing. Shurmur might not be the guy to turn Jones into a star, but he gets the edge here.

Bottom line: All things considered, does Darnold or Jones have a brighter future? And why? What does your crystal ball say?

Lombardo: Jones is simply in a better situation than Darnold, who has his own issues to overcome. For as bleak as things look in East Rutherford right now, there is a lot of early-round draft talent on the Giants’ roster, and Gettleman is flush with 2020 cap space to continue building around Jones. Assuming Shepard (concussion) is able to return to football and play at a high level, Jones has the chance to grow with Barkley, Shepard, Engram and Slayton. I’m not sure Gase is the right man to fix Darnold. And the Jets’ offense looks much further away from a finished product than the Giants’ does.

Stypulkoski: Maybe this is just my cynical nature shining through, but I’m not convinced yet that either of these guys is a true franchise quarterback. Perhaps both, if dropped into the right situation, could be a star. Perhaps both would struggle under any circumstances. I’m not sure. It’s tough to tell from the limited evidence we have on both players right now. If I’m being pressed, though, I’ll go with Jones — strictly because the Giants have a better track record of fixing their issues and cobbling together a winner than the Jets. After 50 years of struggles, it’s just tough to trust the Jets will get anything right until it actually happens.

Slater: I’m not nearly as cynical as Stypulkoski — that’s a high bar to clear — but I’m also not sold on Jones or Darnold as a future star. The jury is still very much out on both. I was never fully convinced by Darnold’s strong finish to 2018. He needed to show me more, especially considering how sluggish he looked at times earlier in his rookie year. Here’s the reality in today’s NFL: A high-profile quarterback is expected to make significant progress in Year 2 or Year 3 at the latest. And Darnold just isn’t doing that right now, for the various reasons we listed above (including maybe his own shortcomings). Unless something changes (like the coaching staff, yet again?), it’s tough to feel totally optimistic about his chances. But since I’m contractually obligated to provide an answer to this question, here it is — Jones.

NFL analyst Darryl Slater may be reached at dslater@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DarrylSlater.

Matt Stypulkoski may be reached at mstypulkoski@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @M_Stypulkoski. Find NJ.com Jets on Facebook.

Matt Lombardo may be reached at MLombardo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattLombardoNFL