There are few jobs in sports that come with brighter lights or more pressure than being the quarterback of the New York Giants.
Regardless of the sport, the New York media market is a fishbowl, complete with a ravenous — and occasionally rabid — press and passionate fanbases. There really aren’t any sights grander than a ticker tape parade through the Canyon Of Heroes, nor are there many tougher spots if a player or coach finds themselves on the wrong side of the fans and media.
That’s the environment in which Jaxson Dart finds himself after the Giants traded up to make him the 25th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Dart does have a bit of a grace period, as veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston are still between him and the starting job. But still, everyone knows that the job will be Dart’s eventually and that he’s the quarterback of the future.
The bright lights will be his, whenever he’s ready.
Saturday he’ll take the first step toward becoming the Giants (eventual) starter, when he takes the field against the Buffalo Bills. We don’t know exactly when Dart will play, nor do we know exactly how many snaps he’ll get — though Brian Daboll confirmed that he’ll definitely be playing against the Bills.
However many snaps he does get, this will be Dart’s first taste of real NFL action.
“I’m excited. This is just the start of a dream of mine so I’m excited to take that next step, be out there, compete at the highest level,” Dart said. “My family’s going to be there so I’m super excited to have them a part of this journey with me and yeah, I think that’s really it. I’m just stoked for the opportunity.”
Fellow first-rounder Abdul Carter told reporters that the Giants veterans spoke to the rookies, imparting some wisdom before the first preseason game.
“The main point was football is football,” Dart said. “Obviously, you’re taking a next step so it’s a little bit more advanced and just little details and schematics and whatnot.”
Whether Dart can handle the sophistication of a pro offense was one of the big concerns in his pre-draft evaluation.
Overall, the rookie believes that he’s making good progress.
“I feel like I’ve grown a lot,” he said. “My understanding of the game, my understanding of just this offense specifically, but I’ve been able to take big steps and I’m feeling more and more confident each and every day in this offense and kind of what they’re asking me to do.”
“This is the only NFL offense I can really compare it to so it’s all that I know of at this moment,” he added. “You hear people say that, but I think that when you’re kind of able to get the base fundamentals of it down, then you’re able to just obviously grow your knowledge and what not. There’s been long nights of just studying and sitting in my room and just trying to get it down. I’m excited for the future.”
It helps that Dart has plenty of mentors at hand. We knew he already had a good relationship with Eli Manning to council him on handling the role and the city. He also has experienced quarterback coaches in Brian Daboll and Mike Kafka, not to mention a trio of veterans in Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, and Tommy DeVito.
What wasn’t widely known is that Dart has also built a relationship with 2024 NFL MVP Josh Allen. Allen is, of course, very familiar with Brian Daboll and how he likes to build an offense.
“I talked to Josh a few days after I got drafted,” Dart said, “and he’s been somebody who I’ve really looked up to and since coming here, just watching a ton of his tape and how he was able to operate Coach Dabs’ system. It’s going to be kind of a surreal feeling to be on the same field as him.”
“I think the biggest thing as the quarterback – he [Allen] talked a lot about leadership,” Dart said, elaborating on the MVP’s advice to him. “That was kind of like his main thing and then trying to be the best teammate for the guys around you because as a quarterback, you have to raise the standards of everybody.”
Dart also mentioned that Allen gave him insight into how Daboll coaches quarterbacks and builds a system around their strengths.
“I think that what shows up on Coach Dabs’ record,” Dart said, “is being able to coach many different quarterbacks who have different skill sets and kind of molding offenses around what they’re good at, so kind of just hone in on the key details of Coach Dabs’ offense and really trust it. I think at times, maybe quarterbacks will predetermine things and not really trust the system, but the special thing about Coach Dabs is he gives us a ton of freedom so there’s answers to everything that you can really think of.”
Overall, his takeaway from the advice he’s been given from all the veterans was laced with the confidence and swagger that’s become Dart’s calling card throughout the summer.
“At the end of the day,” he added, “it’s the same game you were playing when you were a kid so just enjoy that. Compete, don’t leave any regrets out there on the field and don’t ever take this moment lightly and there’s no light that’s too bright to play in.”
“Maybe when I run out,” he said when asked if he thinks he’ll have butterflies in his stomach for his first NFL action. “Once I get between those lines, everything kind of zones out for me. I’m in my zone.”
“I don’t think that you can be an elite competitor if that’s not you’re mindset,” he added. “If that’s not how you approach everything ,and as a kid, you watch the stars on the biggest stages and that’s what people remember forever. I think that’s always been something that I’ve looked up to and want to make my own lane in that such.”
Dart said that he isn’t worried about proving himself in his first preseason game, nor is he scared of making mistakes.
“I’m not scared,” he said. “When I go out there, I’m going to play the game that I know how to play and the offense here, they don’t give me restrictions on what I can and can’t do so there’s obviously going to be things where I’m learning when I can do something, when I can’t do something. I think if you’re going to play scared as a quarterback, you shouldn’t be out there.”
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