Daniel Jones wasn’t a widely popular pick by the Giants with the sixth overall selection in the NFL draft, but local history shows the Duke quarterback has a chance to reverse that first impression. Here are a few examples of players or coaches who initially were not popular acquisitions in New York but ended up being beloved by their respective fan bases.

Phil Simms, Giants

What better place to start than Jones’ position with his new team?

Simms even joked “most people have never heard of me” after Big Blue surprisingly grabbed him out of tiny Division 1-AA school Morehead State with the seventh overall pick in 1979. Simms’ collegiate numbers weren’t particularly impressive — 32 touchdowns, 45 picks and completing 49 percent of his passes — and he was booed soundly when NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced his name on draft night.

Simms overcame arm injuries early in his career to throw for more than 33,000 yards in 14 seasons with the Giants, and his legacy was cemented with a 22-for-25 MVP performance in a Super Bowl XXI win over Denver.

Joe Torre, Yankees

It’s hard to picture now, but Torre hardly was a popular choice to helm the Yankees after Buck Showalter was let go by George Steinbrenner following a heartbreaking loss to Seattle in the 1995 AL Division Series.

The Brooklyn-bred Torre had posted a .471 winning percentage (894-1003) in 14 previous seasons as a manager with the Mets, Braves and Cardinals, and hadn’t appeared in a World Series game as a player or a manager in his career, at least until his calming influence led the Bombers on a magical ride to the 1996 championship, their first title in 18 years. Torre’s Yankees then posted a three-peat in the Fall Classic beginning with a then-record, 114-win regular season in 1998.

The Yankees qualified for the playoffs in each of Torre’s 12 seasons, and after three more years managing the Dodgers, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame — with the interlocking NY on his cap — in 2014. Torre’s number six was retired to Monument Park later that year.

Paul O’Neill, Yankees

Let’s just say that radio callers weren’t particularly supportive when GM Stick Michael traded rising star Roberto Kelly to Cincinnati ahead of the 1993 season, but it turned out to be one of the seminal moves that resulted in the franchise’s late-90s dynasty.

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The intense O’Neill immediately endeared himself to the Yankees faithful, particularly those in the right-field bleachers, with a hard-nosed, cooler-smashing intensity that led Steinbrenner to dub him the Warrior. A .259 career hitter with the Reds, O’Neill was a good match for the old Stadium’s dimensions. His .303 average over nine seasons in the Bronx included a batting title (.359) in the strike-shortened 1994 season.

Stadium denizens even chanted his name during the final innings of Game 5 of the 2001 World Series against Arizona, and he since has become a quirky but beloved broadcaster on YES.

Kristaps Porzingis, Knicks

The most recent example of such a dramatic turnaround was KP, who was booed heavily — and famously prompted at least one young fan to bawl on live TV — after Phil Jackson tabbed the little-known Latvian forward with the fourth overall pick in 2015. The 7-foot-3 Porzingis was eventually embraced by the MSG crowds, appearing headed for NBA stardom until wrecking his ACL in 2017.

Porzingis’ tenure with the Knicks didn’t end well, of course, as his displeasure with the team’s tanking direction while rehabbing his knee led to a cap-space trade to Dallas in February.