I honestly can’t believe I’m writing this, but no, the New York Giants shouldn’t trade Jaxson Dart and draft Fernando Mendoza if they get the first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Right, let me back up a bit.
The Giants currently hold the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, and this very well could be a “one quarterback” draft. As things stand now, Indiana quarterback, and Heisman Trophy winner, Fernando Mendoza is the only quarterback who is likely to enter the draft who will carry a first round pick. And because of the number of In all likelihood, Mendoza will be the first pick in the draft thanks to the number of quarterback-needy teams who will be drafting in the Top 10.
The conversation surrounding the Giants and the first overall pick has shifted over the last couple days. Lately, there have been some suggesting that if the Giants wind up with the first overall pick, they should draft Mendoza and trade Dart.
The argument is that with “all his injury problems” Dart will fizzle out as a bust, and that the Giants should move on by drafting the less-athletic (and therefore safer?) Mendoza after trading Dart.
I should be clear, this sentiment isn’t crawling out of the darker corners of the internet. It’s coming from places like ESPN.
Kevin Clark of ESPN2 asked Daniel Jeremiah if the Giants (or Titans) should “pull a Josh Rosen”— trade Dart (or Cam Ward) and draft Mendoza.
Jeremiah, notably a former NFL scout, shot the idea down immediately.
“No, not where I am in the process right now”, Jeremiah said. “I’ve seen Cam Ward play live and I was there for Jaxson Dart’s first start with the Giants. … Those guys, talent-wise, I think they’re more talented, they’re more physically gifted than any of the quarterbacks that I’ve seen in this class.”
“I like Mendoza,” he added, “I think he’s the best one that I’ve seen so far. But it wouldn’t be enough for me to punt on either one of those guys [Dart or Ward].”
But that’s not all. Former Giant Chris Canty brought it up and cited sticking with Dart as a “risk” for the Giants, which was then discussed on the ESPN morning show “Get Up” (10:43).
Bill Barnwell expressed “concern” about Dart’s inability to avoid injury as part of his reasoning why the Giants’ coaching position is unattractive, actually.
Dart’s inability to avoid big hits and injuries is quickly becoming concerning. Sunday was the fifth time in 10 starts that he has been forced to leave the game to undergo a concussion evaluation, and he missed losses to the Packers and Lions.
This, of course, ignores that Dart has repeatedly been cleared by independent neurologists and the calls to the tent often come after relatively routine plays. That isn’t to say he hasn’t taken big hits — he certainly has — but rather most of the calls to the tent were on relatively routine plays. For instance, Dart protected himself against Washington, going to the ground while avoiding a loss while the Washington defenders hit each other far harder than him.
Taking a step back, we need to talk about the hysteria surrounding Dart’s play style, “recklessness” and “injury concerns.
I’m not going to criticize fans for being concerned. I do think that a lot of the concern on that end is due to the potential we all see in Dart. As Louis Riddick says in the Get Up segment, Dart has shown everything you want to see from a Franchise Quarterback. He can win from the shotgun or pistol, from under center, he can make all the throws and win with his arm in structure, and win with his athleticism out of structure. Dart processes far better than folks who “helmet scouted” him in college, and he’s proven a lightning rod who can galvanize the team.
I think fans recognize what they have in Dart and don’t want to lose that. I’d argue that coaching that aggressiveness and physicality out of him would do as much harm as an injury. Availability is vital, but so to is a willingness to be a “football player” and do what’s necessary to make a play.
I will, however, call out the members of the media who’ve parroted the narrative that Dart is either too reckless, or too dumb, to take care of himself. That not only takes agency away from Dart, infantilizing him as opposed recognizing him as an adult who understands the risk and is willing to take it on in order to help his team, but it also completely discounts the fact that Dart is actually REALLY good at avoiding hits.
Dart has been among the best in the NFL at avoiding sacks since taking over as the Giants’ starter. That’s in large part thanks to his quickness, vision, and situational awareness.
Case in point, his backfield scramble on the 2-point conversion against the Patriots was positively Mahomesian.
And while Dart is built like a power back, he seldom tries to truly “truck” defenders (unlike J.J. McCarthy, who literally ran head-first into a Dallas defender last week). Instead, his runs often see him trying to out-angle or out-athlete defenders. He’s bet wrong too often, and it’s something he needs to continue to work on. But acting as though he seeks out contact just isn’t accurate, and the hysteria is just over-the-top ridiculous.
This narrative might have started from a genuine place, but it’s evolved into bad faith concern trolling.
Too many of the sources pushing the narrative seem to be trying to play on fans’ fears, creating an emotional reaction to generate engagement. They should know better, definitely can do better, and their audience deserves better.
And so does Dart. This has reached the same fever pitch as calling Odell Beckham a “behavior problem” for doing the whip after scoring a touchdown as a rookie.
Right now, if we’re to take the narrative seriously, Jaxson Dart is just too physical and competitive to be an NFL football player and the Giants should trade him for their own good.
C’mon, man… What are we even doing here?
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