Could Giants Start Jaxson Dart Ahead of Schedule?

There are several perks that come with being a first-round quarterback. Besides the lofty contracts and the possibility of truly breaking the bank in a half decade, Day 1 passers get more chances. They kill coaches and live to tell the story. Their upside lures in hot executives and high-level play-callers. And when things really go wrong, more teams are willing to buy low on one’s services.

Sam Darnold had the best year of his career in Year 7. A third team will try and fix Trey Lance.

Nevertheless, there are pitfalls to hearing one’s name called on the draft’s opening night. The expectations are high, and the pressures to carry a franchise are greater. Every team that drafts a rookie has a plan for him. Few of them watch it unfold as they imagine.

The New York Giants traded back into Round 1 for the rights to draft Jaxson Dart as the class’ second quarterback. They did so with Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston signed in the six weeks prior.

New York’s plan is for Dart to sit for the majority, if not the entirety, of the 2025 season. With an extra veteran in the room, head coach Brian Daboll can make sure he doesn’t start by accident after Wilson pulls a hamstring or tweaks an ankle. But as the realities of in-season adversity hit, Dart’s Giants debut could arrive early.

Subsequently, Mike Clay is projecting real rookie-year action for the Mississippi product.

“Dart will begin his career behind Russell Wilson and perhaps also Jameis Winston, but history suggests the No. 25 pick will make a Year 1 impact,” Clay wrote. “From 2011 to 2024, 38 of 47 first-round QBs (81%) took over as the starter prior to Week 10. Twenty-three (49%) started in Week 1, including Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix last season. Of the seven QBs picked in the 20-32 range, six played as rookies and four took over before Week 5. Jordan Love was the only exception since he backed up Aaron Rodgers for three seasons.”

Wilson will get a chance to start because he gives New York the best chance to win, and for as long as a leash as Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen seem to have, at some point their team needs to win.

After heavy investments into the defense and the addition of a competent starter, they are out of excuses. But if things go badly in the early parts of the season, that aforementioned plan can change. Owner John Mara can go back on his word. Daboll won’t go down his ship without exhausting every option.

Dart may have to flash in practice to truly get the ball rolling. But adversity is inevitable in the NFL, and job security isn’t. It won’t take much for every week to become the game Dart potentially makes his entrance.