New York Giants News

Home

Quizzes

Watch

Newsletter

Aug 21, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) runs with the ball during the first quarter against the New England Patriots at MetLife Stadium. Mark Smith-Imagn Images

Jaxson Dart Named Among NFL's Best Newcomers from 2025 Preseason

Originally posted on New York Giants on SI
By Stephen Lebitsch | Last updated Sep 1, 2025 12:00 PM ET

As the New York Giants prepare for Week 1 of the 2025 regular season where they’ll see what they can accomplish behind quarterback Russell Wilson, a majority of the outside chatter has instead been focused on a different player in the same position group.

While head coach Brian Daboll and the Giants continue to back Wilson as the day one starter as the new campaign opens in Washington next Sunday, it’s the rookie Jaxson Dart who has continued to be the apple of everyone else’s eye in New York.

Dart, the Giants No. 25 pick in the first round, was brought to the franchise to be the hopeful franchise gunslinger down the road, with the idea that Daboll, who seemed to really love the kid in the pre-draft process, could potentially mold him into an elite passer like he did with Josh Allen back in his Buffalo days.

However, to everyone’s surprise, the Ole Miss product has not come onto the pro scene slowly. Instead, he has flashed a lot of the intangibles that usually don’t come out of a first-year signal caller right away, and offered credence to why the regime sacrificed assets and moved up the draft board to steal him.

In three games during the preseason when he earned his first taste of NFL action, Dart went 32/47 for 372 yards and four touchdowns, one coming with his feet which he used to efficiently extend plays and create big yardage out of an oncoming pass rush, to help lead the Giants to a perfect 3-0 record.

With each outstanding performance, Dart has been rising up the rookie ranks and giving the fanbase something to get excited about down the road, even if it’s coming in exhibition football with little reps coming against their opponents’ starting units.

To now top it all off with the Giants’ first real contest on the horizon, Pro Football Focus officially cemented Dart among the brightest rookie players from the preseason, circling him right at the top of the list as his name continues to ring across the league.

“When the 2025 NFL Draft unfolded in April, Dart’s pick position was one of the focal points,” writer Bradley Locker said. “After only three preseason games, the Giants sure must be content to have secured him with the 25th overall selection.

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

“Dart’s 84.7 overall PFF grade and 88.5 PFF passing grade were both the highest among any rookie signal-caller in August. Altogether, the Ole Miss product produced four big-time throws to only one turnover-worthy play, demonstrating elite ball placement and toughness in the pocket despite getting drilled.

“Russell Wilson’s leash as the Giants’ QB1 didn’t appear extremely long to begin with, and it assuredly got shorter after how Dart looked to begin his pro career.”

Dart’s preseason success definitely made the whispers for the rookie to take over the No. 1 position in the helm turn into louder shouts. That said, it’s still not going to force the Giants’ brass to completely flip the tables on their plan for the quarterback room and a make-or-break campaign that lies ahead.

Again, Dart did get some starting work, particularly in the preseason finale against the New England Patriots when he completed 12 of his 14 pass attempts for one touchdown of his four touchdowns and an average of 6.8 yards per throw.

A majority of his workload still came against the opponents’ reserve players who were also out there battling for coveted spots on their team’s rosters.

The Giants have yet to hit the stage of the rookie’s progression where they feel he can take on full-time starting defenses or navigate more complex coverage looks that would be thrown at him if he took over in Week 1.

Sure, the preseason is a good start, and it was promising to see Dart excel and command an offensive huddle downfield numerous times in Daboll’s system after some believed his college system at Ole Miss wasn’t up to par with the pros during the draft process.

No matter what, the Giants want to treat his introduction to the NFL similarly to how they did with Eli Manning just over two decades earlier. Manning wasn’t rushed into action back then, and didn’t see his first true action until late in his 2004 rookie season in relief of Kurt Warner down the stretch.

Depending on how things go with Wilson, who will be tasked with navigating the Giants through the league’s most difficult schedule and starting stretch this season, Dart could very well take the same route as the two-time Super Bowl champion.

The first several games will be critical in telling the direction the team will have to take with their quarterback room in order to keep the current order in place for 2026 and beyond.

Until then, they will not rush Dart into the spotlight and soil the very encouraging start to his growth as a pro player and hopeful future legend to be drafted by the organization.

At least for now, this recognition and how Dart has performed can lend well-deserved credit to Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll for taking the big gamble to move up and grab him from a broader quarterback class that has some serious questions for other prospects who aren’t shining as bright in their respective cities.

What happens next with the NY Giants? Find out! Follow and like us on Facebook. Visit our YouTube channel for the latest videos. Want to send a question in for our mailbag? You can do so here.

This article first appeared on New York Giants on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: