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New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart John Jones-Imagn Images

Why NY Giants Should NOT Plan to Start Jaxson Dart in Week 1

Originally posted on New York Giants on SI
By Patricia Traina | Last updated Jul 1, 2025 4:00 PM ET

In Part 2 of our week-long series of reviewing the hottest narratives surrounding the New York Giants, we turn our attention to the great quarterback debate.

Sometimes, a new member of an NFL team can create such a stir among the fan base that there suddenly becomes a demand to see what that newcomer is capable of doing.

Such is the case with New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart, for whom the team traded up to get in the first round this year, a player whom Giants nation hopes will turn the tide of the uneven luck the franchise has had since the glory years of the Eli Manning era.

The early media reviews on Dart have been positive to the point where some in the national media have increased their opinions about when the Giants should rip off the bandage and start Dart right away, so he can gain the much-needed experience that can’t be replicated in the controlled practice environment.

They argue that since the Giants are not yet in the Super Bowl conversation, the team should let Dart go through his growing pains now, so that by 2026, the offense will be a well-oiled machine.

They also argue that the Giants finally appear to have a solid offensive line, assuming their projected starters play more than the six games the unit played together last year.

They have a budding running game, and they have solid receiving options in wideout Malik Nabers and tight end Theo Johnson, just to name a few.

But don’t expect the Giants to give in to the growing demands that they skip over Russell Wilson and put Dart out there for Week 1.

A plan in motion

The Giants are not about to rush Dart into the lineup until he’s checked the boxes laid out by head coach Brian Daboll, who helped develop Bills quarterback Josh Allen into an upper-echelon signal caller by exercising patience in Allen’s transformation from college to the pros.

The plan that Daboll used to develop Allen is believed to be similar to what the Giants are using for Dart which is to take whatever time is necessary to ensure that Dart’s fundamentals, understanding of the offense, and confidence level are where it all needs to be before throwing him out there to face more sophisticated defenses and schemes that will likely be designed to create confusion for him.

“For any player you get, you want to see what that player is going to be at some point in the distance, six months, 12 months, 18 months in the future, where his progress is and where he should be,” assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Mike Kafla said.

“Along the way, you can evaluate if he is on schedule. Is he a little bit further behind? Do we need to add or subtract certain things? For the quarterback, that's what you try to put together.”

It’s the right way to approach it, as some of the game’s top quarterbacks, present and past, such as Eli Manning, Patrick Mahomes, and Jordan Love, all sat during most of their rookie campaigns before being turned loose.

Still, some will point to Denver, Chicago, and Washington, teams that last year had rookie quarterbacks who started right away, as a reason for the Giants to do so with Dart.

The difference, though, is that those teams didn’t have anyone behind their rookies who could go in and keep the team competitive while the rookies developed.

So there was a higher sense of urgency than, say, for the Giants, who in signing Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, gave themselves an added layer of protection, so that they don’t face the possibility of having to rush Dart out there if Wilson is injured and can’t play.

Are the Giants doing themselves a disservice by not starting Dart?

There is no substitute for live game reps, especially for a quarterback who, on the practice field, is protected as part of a controlled environment.

That’s why the Giants are likely to get Dart a lot of preseason reps, so that he can gain a better sense of the actual speed of the game and also show where he’s progressed and where he still needs to grow.

At some point, Dart will leap ahead of Winston as the No. 2 quarterback for the simple reason that as the No. 3 projected quarterback, Dart won’t have any chance whatsoever to get into a game in a mop-up role, which is what the Giants did back in the day with Eli Manning as a rookie.

But otherwise, no, the Giants are doing right by Dart. This is a team that is still a ways off from being a deep postseason contender, a team that still has a few other questions it needs to answer.

That said, there will probably come a time when Dart will get snaps this year in a mop-up type of role, which is how Manning gradually inched toward becoming a full-time starter back in 2004.

It’s certainly reasonable to anticipate that Dart will, at some point, pass Winston on the depth chart because, as the No. 3 quarterback, he wouldn’t have a chance to get into a game unless the two guys in front of him were injured.

But for those hoping that Dart gets his chance sooner rather than later, there’s a pretty good chance you’re going to have to wait for that day, as should be the case.

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