Giants Seeing Early Return on Jaxson Dart's Leadership

The New York Giants drafted quarterback Jaxson Dart with the 25th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, giving head coach Brian Daboll his first true protégé in East Rutherford.

Dart is a project passer whose tools flashed in an offense that is a far cry from what he’ll be asked to run in the NFL. The Giants are banking on intangible development and giving him the resources to promote it. He is joined by veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, and both sit ahead of him on the depth chart. That offers him the opportunity for a redshirt season, should he need it.

How he grows into the role of franchise quarterback is yet to be seen. But general manager Joe Schoen wouldn’t have risked his job on a first-round passer if he didn’t think he could handle the job in between Sundays.

The Giants' rookie quarterback flaunted those leadership skills at offseason workouts on Friday, and spoke about his early work at the proceeding press conference.

“Yeah, as a quarterback, you're the one that run – you run the ship when you're out there,” Dart told reporters. “So, if you don't know the ins and outs of everything, you're not going to have everybody around you prepared. And I think that that's super important.

“It's very important to have that mindset coming to work each and every day. And I think that also raises the bar for everybody around you. And I think that if you want to be a great team and you want to compete at the highest level, that's definitely how you have to be as a quarterback.”

Dart earned high praise for his leadership skills at Mississippi, and he’ll have to earn the trust of a locker room that has grown used to poor quarterback play. One way to do that will be to make an earnest push for Wilson’s playing time and perform well in practice.

He’ll also have to remain coachable, especially with such a stark transition ahead of him. According to the quarterback, he’s more than welcome to accept Daboll’s pointers.

“Yeah, he coaches me up like every second I'm around him,” Dart confirmed. “He's the guy that will walk in a room, say goodbye and whatnot, and then he'll come back 30 seconds later because he has an idea. So, he's constantly coaching me, and I think that's what I want to be around. I want to be coached the hardest, and I feel like that's going to help me excel at the highest level and help me reach my potential. So, there's not another coach I'd rather be playing for.”

The New York faithful won’t be able to learn much about Dart for a few months, but the early signs seem promising. For now, that’ll do.