Analyst says Giants wouldn't be 'scared' to make this Jaxson Dart decision

Shortly after the New York Giants traded back into the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft to grab quarterback Jaxson Dart with pick No. 25, Giants head coach Brian Daboll announced that free-agency signing Russell Wilson would "be our starter...once we get started here in the spring." 

However, NBC Sports NFL analyst Chris Simms believes there's a chance that Dart could end the preseason atop the Giants' depth chart. 

"I don’t expect the Giants to be a super team here," Simms explained during Monday's edition of the FanDuel TV "Up & Adams" program, as shared by Christian Arnold of the New York Post. "I’m not picking the Giants to go to the playoffs. The amount of money they’re paying Russell Wilson does not guarantee him the starting quarterback job. Those are things I look at to go, if Jaxson Dart is phenomenal through training camp and (organized team activities) and has a really good preseason, and Russell Wilson is just, eh, just OK and doesn’t look all that sharp, I don’t think they’ll be scared to start Jaxson Dart here." 

Simms is hardly the first member of the NFL community who has suggested that Daboll and Giants general manager Joe Schoen may rush Dart into action ahead of schedule this fall. As recently as Tuesday, Ryan Novozinsky of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com noted that Giants co-owner John Mara may run it back with Daboll and Schoen for the 2026 campaign if the club endures a losing 2025 season but "Dart develops into a young star." 

Reports have revealed that Dart became Daboll's desired quarterback during the predraft process and that Daboll essentially worked to convince Schoen that the Ole Miss product was the right first-year pro for the organization. 

"It sounds like the guy [Daboll] really wanted was Jaxson Dart," Simms added. "And when you got the head coach/playcaller in your corner and you're his guy, he’s going to make sure you succeed and go in the right direction. I wouldn’t be shocked Week 1. I think it would be, realistically, if you made me bet, I would say around Week 5 or 6 would be really the time I’d expect [Dart to play]."

As of Tuesday morning, FanDuel Sportsbook listed Wilson as a massive -1600 betting favorite to be the Giants' Week 1 starter. The job seems to be Wilson's to lose, but it also appears that people within the NFL believe Dart could give Daboll and Co. something to think about by building on his impressive rookie minicamp performances.