New York Giants interim head coach Mike Kafka left no room for interpretation when asked if he thought rookie Jaxson Dart was an NFL franchise quarterback.
“I don’t have any doubts about that,” said Kafka, the team’s offensive coordinator before replacing Brian Daboll as head coach after 10 games.
“Jaxson’s been a pleasure to coach. He’s been awesome. Learning every single day, absorbing as much information as he can and then also putting his own fingerprint on things, putting his own personality on it. And that’s what’s most important is you see the growth and you see a player that’s continuing to learn from the good, the bad, and then continuing to take steps forward and continuing to step up and rise to the occasion when things aren’t great and take ownership and take accountability and hold other guys accountable. Those are leadership qualities you’re seeing from Jaxson and as a player, he’s going to continue to grow and get better. I’m proud to be working with him and happy for him and I’m excited to continue to do that this week.”
There was a report prior to the Giants’ 34-10 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday that the Giants would “look at” Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Kafka thinks that Dart will continue to get better.
“I think you learn so much faster from year one to year two,” Kafka said. “You have that full season, you’re in the NFL style, you kind of know how things operate. You’ve built somewhat of a framework of a routine on how you want to prepare yourself, whether it’s your body, your mind, getting ready for OTAs. And you now have a little bit longer offseason. It’s not like right from your college season to a bowl game to prepping for the combine, prepping for pro days. Then you get drafted and you’re thrown right into rookie camp and right into OTAs. It’s kind of like a never-ending cycle, that rookie season. And then on top of that, it’s a long season, right? It’s more games than you’ve ever played in your career, in your life. So, that ends up being a long year.
“Now you have time after this season to go through, kind of refine the things that you want, how you want to operate in the offseason, and now you have some time to kind of look back and really dissect yourself and really can make some more steps to improvement.”
Here are more takeaways from Kafka’s Monday morning call with New York media.
Dart growing as a leader
The quarterback is generally considered the leader of a football team. That isn’t always easy for a 22-year-old rookie, which is what Dart is.
“I know I’ve seen Jaxson just become more comfortable in that role,” Kafka said. “He started the season off as the backup and that’s a different role, that’s a different set of responsibilities. Now being a starter, number one, focusing on his own job and what he has to do on a daily basis and a weekly basis to get himself ready to play, but then also, you’re in the quarterback position, your quarterback role, so that leadership is natural.
“I don’t think there’s an age requirement for leadership, whether you’re young or old or a veteran or one year or one month or however many. I just think if you have the leadership qualities, if you have the ability to, number one, lead yourself and then lead others and guys will follow you based on how you operate and how you carry yourself, then I don’t think there’s necessarily like a prerequisite for that. I mean, Jaxson does a great job because he’s just being himself and he’s controlling what he can control. He’s doing all the things that make him great and he’s just being himself. He’s not trying to be somebody else. He’s just his genuine self.”
Ridin’ high
For the first time since Week 5 of the 2024 season, the Giants flew back to New Jersey Sunday night after winning a game on the road. It was an enjoyable trip.
“It was a good plane ride. It was smooth. We got back in a few hours there and I think the guys enjoyed it,” Kafka said. “You can hear the guys talking about the game and the plays people were making. It was a cool atmosphere.
“It was great. You kind of walked around the plane, you felt the energy, and for all three phases to play the way they did, it was great for everyone to kind of be involved in that.”
Praise for young players
Kafka has encouraging words for a trio of young players.
Offensive tackle Marcus Mbow, who filled in for Andrew Thomas:
“Marcus has done a great job. He’s holding his own on the edge. He’s doing a nice job in the run game. Like I said, there are plenty of things we can all improve on. Marcus is no different there, but he’s doing a nice job. He’s growing, he’s learning just like any young player, but he’s competing, he’s finishing. All the qualities and all the things that we’re asking him to do, he’s doing them well,” Kafka said.
Abdul Carter, who had nine pressures on Sunday, per NextGen Stats:
“I’m just really proud of Abdul for how he’s approached it. He’s taken it upon himself to continue to get better and he’s putting in the work. There’s no substitute for hard work and Abdul is continuing to do that. He’s getting in early, doing all the things in the meeting room and then on the field you’re seeing it show up. So, it’s a testament to him, the things that he’s done just not only on the field but off the field as well. He’s taken great accountability in that and I’m very proud of him for that,” Kafka said.
Deonte Banks, who had a 95-yard kickoff return touchdown vs. the Raiders:
“We asked him to be a kick returner and he really doesn’t have a ton of experience doing that at this level. Just absorbed it, loved it and continued to grow and get better,” Kafka said. “We know he has some explosive ability. He has the speed and the vision and (special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial) Ghobi’s done a really nice job with him, developing him and giving him an opportunity. Yesterday was just, I think, a culmination of a lot of hard work back there working with him and Ghobi and (assistant special teams coach) Cam (Achord), really working through the fundamentals of it.
“I was super happy for him that he had an opportunity there to score a big one for us. And that was much needed. I mean, it was right there to kind of put it away and seal the deal for us and Deonte did a nice job. I’m really happy for him.”
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