Sportsnaut
The long wait is finally over, and the New York Giants have arrived at training camp. After an offseason where general manager Joe Schoen revamped the roster via free agency and the draft, there’s optimism surrounding the team.
One of the new additions to the team is rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart, whom Schoen traded back into the first round to take with the 25th overall pick.
There’s been a ton of speculation on what New York intends to do with their rookie QB. Some feel 2025 should be a redshirt season for Dart, where he sits and learns from Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston. At the same time, others feel the Giants should throw caution to the wind and give Dart a chance to compete to be the starter. If he hopes to get more first-team reps sooner, here’s what Dart needs to do to create a quarterback controversy in August.
Dart will start the summer third on the depth chart, and if he has any aspirations of moving up, he must show that he has a firm grasp on the offense and not turn the ball over. Head coach Brian Daboll will not accept turnovers, whether it’s in practice or the preseason.
Often, rookie quarterbacks have a high tendency to turn the ball over early in their careers. If the 22-year-old quarterback shows a tendency to turn the ball over, there’s no way he’ll move ahead of Wilson and Winston.
All eyes will be on Dart when he’s on the practice field, and although he’ll begin training camp taking the bulk of the reps with the third team offense, he’ll get reps with the second and first team as well. It’s imperative he show improvement as the summer progresses because if he does, then he’ll get more reps with the first team offense.
Not only does he need to shine in practice, but he also needs to shine in the two joint practices the Giants have with the Jets, as well as in the teams’ three preseason games. The speed of practices and preseason games is not equivalent to the speed of a regular season game, but if the former Ole Miss quarterback is picking apart defenses in practice and the preseason, New York’s brass may push to see what he can do when the games count for real.
The Giants have high hopes that the connection of Jaxson Dart to Malik Nabers will be more successful than their previous Ole Miss quarterback to LSU star receiver connection of Eli Manning to Odell Beckham Jr. Time will tell when that will happen. If Dart builds a rapport with the second-year wideout in camp, that time could happen sooner rather than later.
Nabers is the team’s best player, and he has the potential to be an All-Pro this year. And if Dart has a better connection with him than Wilson,...
