New York Giants OTA Report No. 6: Jaxson Dart Hits a Valley

One thing that has seemingly emerged with Dart is that his worst throws have come when he’s been on the move and hasn't set his feet. Both of his interceptions came when he was scrambling to the left and twerking his body in such a way as to ensure that he had enough room to wind up and throw the ball. 

Whereas he has shown that he can throw with good velocity when he sets his feet, when he doesn’t, the ball tends to get away from him and goes up for grabs.

Dart’s best throw might have come when he was with the second-team offense (with whom he was with for most of the team drills). He connected with Ihmir Smith-Marsette on a perfectly placed ball that only the receiver could get it.

Dart is the Man

Assistant general manager Brandon Brown shared an interesting tidbit: during the pre-draft process, one of the questions they asked prospects was which college player they would want to bring with them to the NFL.

The overwhelming response — and not from Ole Miss Rebels — was Dart. 

Interestingly, Giants assistant general manager Brandon Brown spoke about how, during the team's draft process, one of the questions they asked of the prospects was, "If you could pick one player from college to have with you in the NFL, who would it be?"

Brown repealed that the overwhelming answer was Dart.

“The guys see what kind of equity he builds up with them. He has that moxie where guys like to be around him, they gravitate towards him,” Brown said. “They see that he puts the work in. So it was a glove fit for us.” 

Practice Notes

Receiver Darius Slayton had the catch of the day on a 40-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Jameis Winston during the opening 7-on-7 period.

Not to be outdone, Jalin Hyatt had another solid showing in the passing game. In the two OTAs that have been open to the media, if a ball has been in his zip code, he’s come up with the catch.

Safety Dane Belton, whom defensive coordinator Shane Bowen praised for having a good spring so far before the team took the field for practice, came up with a pick as well. 

This marks the second OTA practice in which the media has had access that Belton has come up with a turnover for the defense. 

"Dane has been good for us here early," Bowen said. "Like he's had a really good spring. Finding ways to get him on the field, what he can do for us to help us."

Evan Neal once again was at left guard, working with the first-team offense. Jon Runyan Jr., remember, played left guard for the team last year, but he has been kept out of these practices as he continues to rehab from a shoulder issue from last season.

Interestingly, one might have thought that Neal would work at right guard, but in the practices open to the media so far, that hasn’t been the case (today, it was Jake Kubas getting some snaps there at right guard).

Neal had some success at Alabama playing on the left side, so we wonder if the plan is for him to step into that left guard spot and then for Runyan to move to the right side? 

Remember, the initial plan last year was for Runyan to play right guard, Eluemunor left guard, and Neal right tackle, except Neal’s setback threw a monkey wrench into that plan. So we wonder if they’re looking to go back to that or are just taking advantage of the opportunity to look at different players at different spots while the regulars are held out of practice. 

Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Abdul Carter were in the offensive backfield consistently during this practice. However, there is an asterisk here, as the non-contact nature of the practice gave them the advantage of coming in untouched. 

That said, Burns, in particular, looked very explosive off the snap, oftentimes zipping by his man before he could even react.

Russell Wilson had a nice day throwing the ball. I had him 10 of 14 with two touchdowns, one pick, and two sacks. Two of his completions went to tight end Theo Johnson and Jalin Hyatt, whom Wilson has taken a shine to, saying, “ Jalin Hyatt is a guy that I believe in.” 

With good reason. Assistant General Manager Brandon Brown revealed that Wilson and Hyatt had a private workout earlier this spring in Los Angeles. That connection has strengthened with reps, of which Hyatt has seen an increase with Malik Nabers being held out of practice to rest a toe issue.

Rookie third-round draft pick Darius Alexander did not take part in any team drills, limited to just agility work. It’s unknown what is keeping him out of practice.

Linebacker Bobby Okereke and cornerback Deonte Banks also didn’t partake in team drills.

The Giants return to the field on Monday for OTA No. 7. The media will be back in the building next Thursday. 

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