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The New York Giants made a splash in the 2025 NFL draft, landing defensive standout Abdul Carter with the third overall pick before trading back into the first round to take quarterback Jaxson Dart. The Giants had been linked to Dart well ahead of the opening round of the draft as the team was rumored to prefer the Ole Miss standout over Shedeur Sanders. But when exactly did GM Joe Schoen know he would target Dart in the draft?
“The week of the draft,” Schoen admitted on the Up & Adams Show. “The Monday before the draft we had a final meeting and now we have all the information, we’ve seen these guys multiple times, we’ve had dinners with them, we’ve been on campus, we’ve done private workouts, and we really sat down as the draft gets closer you really start to narrow your circle. You want to eliminate outside voices,” Schoen explained, via Up & Adams.
“So my leadership group along with a couple of coaches sat down and went through our final rankings and that was when we started to devise a plan. Whether we’d go with a player at three and then potentially tried to trade back into the first round. We had a pretty good idea that Abdul would be there at three and what were the other scenarios where we could potentially acquire Jaxson,” Schoen added.
Things essentially worked to perfection for the Giants when Round 1 of the draft finally kicked off. Abdul Carter, arguably the top talent in the 2025 class, was waiting for New York at third overall. And the Giants ultimately didn’t need to worry about the Pittsburgh Steelers grabbing Dart with the No. 21 pick, as the team took DT Derrick Harmon in the first round, helping New York secure their coveted quarterback.
Dart impressed during rookie minicamp and the Giants fully believe he’s the team’s QB of the future. But New York added veteran passers Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston on short term deals this offseason, so Dart understands his place in the Giants’ quarterback room. While he’s a competitor and wants to start, he recognizes he could learn a great deal from Wilson.
Still, both Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll believe in Dart, citing his passion for football as what most stood out about the passer prior to the draft. Now Giants fans have to hope the team can win enough games for Daboll to keep his job beyond the 2025 season so he has the opportunity to develop his hand-picked franchise quarterback.
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