NFL insider reveals likelihood Jaxson Dart plays as rookie with Giants

Jaxson Dart could very well see some time during his rookie season with the New York Giants. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler dissected how the Giants are set up to develop the former Ole Miss QB, but he might be called upon at some point.

If the Giants struggle, don’t expect Russell Wilson to stay in or for the team to go to Jameis Winston. Dart is the guy and Brian Daboll is a fan of his newest draft pick.

To begin rookie minicamp, Dart impressed Daboll and the rest of the coaching staff. It’s early, but there are signs there for the first round pick.

“Jaxson Dart, I heard he threw the ball well yesterday, it’s only one day rookie mini camp, but Brian Daboll is really excited about this guy, more excited about him than really any other quarterback since Josh Allen that he’s worked with,” Fowler said on SportsCenter. “And so really it’s a matter of when he plays. The Giants do feel like they have an infrastructure in place with a good defense and Russell Wilson to win games and help him just develop behind the scenes. But we know if they do lose some games, there could be pressure to play him.”

GM Joe Schoen said he and Daboll, who was the Bills’ offensive coordinator from 2018-21, are taking the same approach with Dart as they did with Allen. Of course, the goal is that it will go differently this time, and Schoen noted the caliber of quarterbacks in the Giants’ quarterback room compared to Buffalo’s in 2018.

“We’ve been through this, we went through it with Josh Allen,” Schoen said, via NFL.com’s Kevin Patra. “We had a little bit different quarterback room at the time, but he was going to sit his rookie year and then halftime of the opening game we’re getting smoked by Baltimore, so we put him in and the rest was history. So that plan didn’t go as well, but we didn’t have a Russell Wilson or Jameis Winston in the room.

“So again, Jaxson’s going to come in, he’s got to learn the offense, there’s a lot to learn, these NFL offenses are hard to grasp and pick up and then be able to go out and execute, so the ability for him to learn and sit behind two consummate pros already will be beneficial for him.”

Dart put together a decorated career at Ole Miss after transferring from USC. He became the program’s all-time leader in passing yards, breaking Eli Manning’s previous record. In 2024, he led the nation with 10.8 pass yards per attempt while totaling 4,279 yards and 29 touchdowns.