Jaxson

Dart

It doesn’t come as much of a surprise, but in case there was any doubt, Raanan said the Giants and their receivers view Wilson as the leader at the position right now. Wan’Dale Robinson said as much when asked about Wilson earlier, while Raanan also went on to point out the various throwing workouts Wilson scheduled with the team after signing with them. It’s worth noting that rookie Jaxson Dart also worked more with the second team offense this week, per Raanan, but the team will likely continue to bring him along slowly as they prepare to eventually hand him the keys. While it’s highly unlikely Wilson will start all 17 games this season, even if healthy, he sounds like a lock to open Week 1 as the starter, even with training camp still to come.

Dart’s deal is worth $17 million in fully guaranteed money. The rookie first-rounder is expected to take a back seat early in camp to veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Dart take the field at some point in his rookie season. Head coach Brian Daboll enters the year on arguably the hottest seat of any coach in the league. Regardless of how the year plays out, some visible growth from a team that finished 3-14 last season, coupled with a solid rookie performance from Dart could go a long way in buying him additional time at the helm. Dart threw for 4,279-29-6 in his final season at Ole Miss and led the nation in YPA at 10.8.

At the start of the Giants’ OTAs, Russell Wilson played with the starters while Jameis Winston and Dart got backup reps. This is in line with the expectation that Wilson will start at quarterback to begin the season, but Dart and Winston’s reps will be interesting to monitor. Dart seems to have a third-string role for now, though he will still get reps as the Giants develop their first-round quarterback investment. Hughes mentioned that Wilson, Winston and Dart split snaps nearly three ways evenly in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills, while the rookie did get three reps with the starters. Though he is starting workouts as the team’s third-string quarterback, we can expect Dart to ramp up reps with the starters as he develops. Wilson will be the starter while Winston will likely be the backup active on gameday during the season. Dart will get opportunities in practice until he eventually gets a chance to start later in the season.

“Week 15 versus Washington is likely where the Giants hope they can get to,” Hughes continues. The Giants appear likely to be one of the worst teams in the league in 2025 regardless of the fact that Russell Wilson is an upgrade on their quarterback situation last season, and Hughes notes that “uncertainty with head coach Brian Daboll and his job status clouds this.” The Giants will likely either need to play better in 2025 or be able to point to Dart with a reasonable expectation that he’s developed into something for Daboll and GM Joe Schoen to save their jobs.

The problem with that otherwise sensible opinion, of course, is that it is extremely unlikely “all goes well” with Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston on a roster that found itself picking at No. 3 overall last month. If the Giants are genuinely serious about redshirting Dart for a year, it will be easier than most places because of the presence of two veteran quarterbacks instead of just one, but coach Brian Daboll and GM Joe Schoen both have their jobs on the line. That almost equals “break rookie glass.” Teams have become more amenable to sitting blue-chip rookie QBs in recent years, but we would be stunned if Dart fails to make 2025 starts.

“We traded up for him. We’re ecstatic to have him,” Schoen said of Dart, the Ole Miss QB taken with the 25th pick of the 2025 NFL Draft. “He’s got the makings of a good quarterback, and there’s a long way to go. There’s a developmental process that he’s going to have to go through. Again, these offenses are not easy to learn, and the execution has to be at a high level.” Dart, who is expected to start the season behind Russell Wilson and perhaps Jameis Winston, will use his spring and summer spending “time ... in the meeting room breaking down video of what [head coach Brian] Daboll wants” from his quarterbacks. Dart is fully expected to sit during his rookie campaign, perhaps getting some late-season playing time if the Giants’ season goes up in flames again.

Speaking on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Daboll likened his current situation to what he and the Bills went through in Josh Allen’s rookie season. Allen opened the season as a backup but took over for Nathan Peterman midway through Buffalo’s first game. Daboll will almost certainly get better play out of Russell Wilson than he did from Peterman, but it’s hard to imagine him keeping his first-round rookie on the bench when Wilson inevitably hits a slump. Dart is a safe bet to make some starts, but between Wilson and Jameis Winston, Daboll could make us wait a frustrating amount of time.

When asked about the team’s plan for Jaxson Dart in his rookie season, GM Joe Schoen said, “He can come in, sit behind a couple veteran quarterbacks and learn.” Schoen and Daboll entered the draft on the hot seat, reportedly with orders from ownership to find the team’s long-term quarterback. While Wilson will open the season as the starter, Dart could still find his way onto the field by season’s end.

The Giants traded the No. 34 overall pick, a 2025 third-rounder and a future sixth-rounder for the right to move up nine spots to land their latest attempted quarterback solution. Frankly, it feels like a light haul, and a good move for a quarterback-desperate team. A three-year starter in Lane Kiffin’s simplistic, prolific Ole Miss offense, Dart (6’2/223) looks the NFL part both from a physical and box score perspective. His production increased all three years in Oxford, culminating in an SEC-leading 4,279 yards last season. His 10.8 yards per attempt led qualified passers by a considerable distance, a number helped along by a similarly prolific aDOT of 11.9. This was despite No. 1 receiver Tre Harris suiting up for only eight games. We love that Dart stuffed the stat sheet against an SEC gauntlet, but he buttered his bread on his first 1-2 reads. If the progression had to go longer it … simply didn’t. Dart would tuck and run. He scrambled a somewhat ridiculous 45 times considering his average athleticism. He is admittedly tough as a runner, a quality in ever-greater demand in the modern NFL. Dart is an impressive overall passer with a few gaping holes in his game. If he can close up 1-2 of them, he could quickly become a legitimate NFL starter. He will most likely remain on the bench for Week 1 with Russell Wilson being thrown into the early-season fire as Dart seasons.

We know that the Giants tried to trade up to get the number one overall pick and draft Cam Ward earlier tonight. The Giants have also been repeatedly linked to Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart, who Brian Daboll supposedly loves. Dart could be the target if the Giants can swing a deal and jump back into the first round.