New York Giants mock draft tracker: QB Jaxson Dart at No. 3?

Would the Giants really do that? Probably not, but one well-known NFL analyst did in his mock draft

This week’s New York Giants mock draft tracker includes only mock drafts conducted from March 1 forward, accounting for the NFL Scouting Combine. Two interesting things happened as a result — Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter became the player most often selected for the Giants, and a nationally-known analyst picked quarterback Jaxson Dart for the Giants at No. 3.

Let’s talk about Dart first.

Charles Davis of NFL.com gave the Giants Dart after he selected Shedeur Sanders No. 1 for the Tennessee Titans and Cam Ward No. 2 for the Cleveland Browns. He wrote:

The last time the Giants went all in on a QB from Ole Miss, it worked out pretty well. I know people have not been projecting Dart to go this high, but New York has a screaming need at the position. After passing on Michael Penix Jr., J.J. McCarthy and Bo Nix in last year’s draft, the G-Men might not feel like they can sit back and wait this time around.

Would GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll really do this? Probably not. Would they take the best player at No. 3 and trade back into the middle or latter portion of Round 1 to select Dart? Perhaps.

Dart is currently the No. 3 quarterback on the NFL Mock Draft Database Big Board, and the No. 38 overall prospect on their Consensus Big Board.

There is a growing belief that Dart is unlikely to still be available when the Giants select at No. 34, the second pick in Round 2.

Long-time NFL assistant coach and former college head coach Charlie Weis, whose son was Dart’s offensive coordinator at Ole Miss the past three seasons, told the New York Post Dart would be his choice in this quarterback class.

“I watched every single game for the whole time he was playing, I watched every play of every game against every opponent,’’ Charlie Weis told The Post. “I know if I was coaching in this league — and this is no disrespect to Cam Ward or [Shedeur] Sanders, because I think they’re both heckuva players — but I know if I was coaching in the league right now, I’d want [Dart] as my quarterback. Because I already know what I’m getting on the field and I know what I’m getting off the field and I know I can win with him.’’ …

“Look, I’m not telling any team to take him or not take him,’’ Weis said. “I just know if you hired me and said, ‘OK, from what you know right now, we’re getting you a quarterback in the draft, which one do you want? It wouldn’t take me two seconds to give an answer.’’

Hunter, the Heisman Trophy winning two-way player, was the choice in 10 of the 36 mock drafts (27.8%) used this week. Hunter’s selection in many of those drafts seems to reflect a belief by many that the Tennessee Titans will select Ward No. 1, and that the Giants would pass on Sanders for someone in the next tier of quarterbacks.

Ward and Sanders were each selected seven times (19.4%). Penn State edge defender Abdul Carter was the choice six times (16.7%).