Harbaugh: Can run RPOs, QB-driven runs with Dart

Dart made a trip to the blue medical tent at the end of the first quarter after going down hard on a sack from Vikings safety Jay Ward. After clearing concussion protocol, Dart would return to the field and fire a 15-yard touchdown pass to rookie Malachi Fields in the end zone. It would be the final play of the day for Dart, who took two sacks on the afternoon and didn’t add anything on the ground. While it’s good news to hear Dart cleared protocol, the visit to the tent is concerning for a player who was evaluated five times in 10 games for a concussion last season.

According to Nagy, the Giants’ goals for Dart this offseason consisted of getting into the huddle, calling the play, getting up to the line of scrimmage, seeing the defense and playing fast. The New York Daily News’ Pat Leonard writes that Dart’s summer has not been “devoid of progress” because Dart has apparently mastered the first three items on the checklist — which seems like a fairly low bar to clear. Dart and his pass catchers have also reportedly struggled to connect downfield. Coaches like Nagy, pass game coordinator and QB coach Brian Callahan and senior offensive assistant Greg Roman dot coach John Harbaugh’s somewhat disconcerting staff. Dart is a talented player who may be able to overcome perceived schematic shortcomings. It would be really nice to see him perform well in the preseason, but Harbaugh has not yet revealed whether Dart will suit up this weekend.

Raanan said Dart slid feet first at the tail end of a third down run during a recent training camp practice — his first slide in 11 camp practices. His teammates approved. “We’ve been begging him to do that for a while,” Giants outside linebacker Brian Burns said. “So, I’m glad that he’s starting to practice it.” Giants head coach John Harbaugh said he “clapped” and “applauded” upon seeing Dart slide instead of initiate contact with an oncoming defender, as he often did during his 2025 rookie season, resulting in a series of head injuries. One of the first topics new quarterbacks coach Brian Callahan discussed with Dart in the spring was the importance of avoiding big hits when he leaves the pocket, according to Raanan. Dart has said, per Raanan, that he “would still try to run over defenders” near the end zone. If Dart takes the advice seriously, he should have a healthier second NFL season.

Part of this stems from asking Jaxson Dart to “run a more traditional offense,” meaning more under-center snaps for the second-year pro as opposed to last year’s shotgun-heavy offense that Brian Daboll built while heavily borrowing from the Ole Miss playbook. Another part of it in Duggan’s estimation is that the Giants pass rush has been “dominant” early in training camp. “You can’t even imagine how much there is for a quarterback to operate with, especially in a new offense,” John Harbaugh said. “He’s done an outstanding job.” It’s probably too soon to be overly worried about Dart this year, but he does profile as a risky fantasy pick in Matt Nagy’s new offense.

Garafolo added, “Other team leaders spoke up as well, and Dart and the players worked through it.” Dart caused a bit of a stir when he got on the stage at Rockland Community College to introduce Donald Trump for a political rally. Giants defender Abdul Carter took to X to voice his displeasure and offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunor felt the need to clarify that the locker room was fine. Head coach John Harbaugh has reportedly spoken to Dart about the incident. Harbaugh himself has met with Trump previously, though in a much less public fashion. This story will eventually fade into the background, but it’s not a great start to Harbaugh’s tenure as the Giants’ head coach, nor Dart’s first season as the full-time starter.

Callahan reportedly made this the subject of one of their first meetings this offseason. That’s probably a good thing. Dart rarely hesitated to get physical as a scrambler and missed Weeks 11-12 due to a concussion. He was checked for concussions in multiple games. After taking over as the team’s starter in Week 4, he was the QB8 in per-game scoring, averaging 20.5 fantasy points per game. He still projects as a QB1, even if he slides on scrambles more often.

“It sounds like we’re not going to be throwing the ball a lot,” Dart said during a recent town hall with Giants fans and reporters when asked about how New York’s offense might look under new OC Matt Nagy. “We’re going to keep giving it to [Cam Skattebo] until they can stop it.” Skattebo said during the town hall that he was still learning to trust his surgically repaired ankle. He pledged to be ready to go for Week 1. If he’s not fully healthy for the season opener, look for Tyrone Tracy and perhaps Devin Singletary to take on bigger workloads.

We are once again waiting all day for a Sunday night. With the schedule release week officially upon us, the league announced on Monday that the Giants would kick off the season hosting the Cowboys for Week 1 of SNF. The John Harbaugh-led Giants will put their offseason rebuild on display on national television against a Cowboys team that finished 7-9-1 last season, largely due to their struggles on the defensive side of the ball. Both teams are hoping to show enough improvement to keep pace with the Eagles, who have finished first in the division two of the last three years.

Nagy landed with John Harbaugh’s team after three years as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator and will now be charged with developing Dart in his second pro season. “When I think of Nagy with Jaxson Dart, I think of the spectacular season the new OC helped Alex Smith put together in 2017, with so many spread-offense elements baked in not just to maximize Smith but to develop Patrick Mahomes,” Breer said. “All the movement stuff the Chiefs were doing that year, in theory, should apply organically to Dart’s physical skill.” Kansas City ranked tenth in both offensive success rate and EPA per play over Nagy’s three seasons as OC. They were in line with the Dolphins and Seahawks in drop back EPA with Mahomes at the helm.

It’s quite the downgrade for Callahan after failing in his lone season at the helm in Tennessee. Callahan will now work with second-year QB Jaxson Dart to develop his game following a promising rookie season in which he threw for 15 touchdowns and five interceptions over 14 games, while rushing for another nine scores. Hopefully Callahan’s total inability to develop Cam Ward in Tennessee isn’t a harbinger of things to come for Dart and the Giants.