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After an intensive search for their future quarterback, the New York Giants set their sights on Ole Miss signal-caller Jaxson Dart, a prospect they traded up at the bottom of the first round to get.
The Giants parted with valuable trade assets–their second and one of their thirds this year and a third next year—suggesting that the current leadership brass of general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll believe that Dart has what it takes to develop into a viable franchise option.
As has been well documented by now, Dart's plan is to sit and acclimate under the watchful eyes of offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, quarterbacks coaches Shea Theierney and Chad Hall, Daboll, and, of course, the veterans on the roster in Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, and Tommy DeVito.
That’s quite a strong ecosystem for a young quarterback to thrive in if he’s willing to do the work, which Dart appears willing to do.
Dart is not a perfect prospect–there is no such thing if you think about it–but there are things he did exceptionally well in college that undoubtedly fit what Daboll is looking for from a future quarterback.
Dart finished first in the SEC last season in passing yards (4,279), completion percentage (69.3%), and passing yards per attempt (10.8), the latter stat ranking first in college football.
But let’s zero in specifically on the pass completion percentage since that number can sometimes be misleading. Generally speaking, the more a quarterback throws shorter passes, the higher the probability he will have a substantial pass completion percentage.
A breakdown of the depth of Dart’s passes last season shows that he only threw 199 of his 2024 pass attempts (out of 398) either behind the line of scrimmage or short (1-9 yards). He threw 89 attempts in the medium range and 88 deep balls of 20+ yards.
His completion percentage for both categories was 70.8% for the medium range and 42.0% on the deep ball, with 17 of his 29 touchdowns last year coming on deep passes.
But of his deep pass attempts, Dart’s receivers dropped five such passes. Dart, who also led the FBS in Average Air Yards/Attempt (11.53), saw his adjusted completion percentage rise to 47.7% on the deep pass attempts.
Why is all this significant? The deep ball has eluded the Giants' offense since Daboll took over as head coach.
According to NFL Pro, the Giants ranked dead last in 2024 in team passing yards per play on plays that went for 20+ yards. This means that most of the deep pass plays the Giants were able to complete came from the receivers picking up yards after the catch.
Given how the Giants are built for speed with Malik Nabers, Darius Slayton, Wan’Dale Robinson, and the rest of the supporting cast that is capable of outrunning defenders, not having a quarterback capable of consistently connecting on the deep ball almost seems like a waste of resources.
With Dart now in the fold, the Giants offense has the potential to work smarter rather than harder on the deep ball–that is, assuming Dart can bring that part of his game to the NFL once he earns the offense’s reins.
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