NY Giants-Raiders preview: Jaxson Dart narratives, No. 1 pick, Joe Schoen

I am officially tired of the negative narratives around New York Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart.

• His play is regressing, and it is doing so because the Giants took Brian Daboll away from him.
• He is a glorified running back who can’t be relied upon as the quarterback of the future because he suffered a concussion and, gasp!, he might get hurt again because he tries too hard.
• The Giants better trade him and draft Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza if they get the chance.

Stop it already!

I don’t know if Dart will have a career like Eli Manning’s, if it will come closer to the one Daniel Jones has had, or be something in-between.

I do know that the statistics say Dart has been better this season than No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward, and that there is reason to believe he can become a really good NFL quarterback. There is no reason for the Giants to cast Dart aside and try someone else.

Don’t believe me? Here are some other analysts with the same viewpoint.

Draft analyst Todd McShay of The Ringer was bullish enough on Dart to tell then-coach Brian Daboll the quarterback was perfect for him. From ‘The McShay Report’ newsletter.

During the pre-draft process, I had a conversation with Brian Daboll about the 2025 QB class, and shared with him that I thought Dart would be the perfect fit in his system. Daboll didn’t show his cards then, but I had a pretty strong feeling going into the draft that he was New York’s guy. I even went as far as to predict that they’d trade back into the first round to select him, which ended up coming to fruition. …

Before Daboll’s firing, you could see why he and Dart were in many ways an excellent pairing. All of the things I loved about Dart on tape—including his poise in the pocket, mobility, and processing—were on display, and for a few weeks in October it looked like the Giants had gotten the steal of the draft.

I’m interested to see what Dart looks like next season under a new coaching staff, but through 10 games, I’ve seen enough to think this is a guy worth holding on to and giving every chance to be a franchise QB with the Giants. The talent is there, he just needs the proper support system in place.“

I am also going to agree with this from Art Stapleton of the Bergen Record:

The narratives being pushed about Jaxson Dart right now are so out of whack. …

What we’re seeing is not regression for Dart; it’s the inability of the Giants’ players and coaches paid to help the rookie take a step forward to step up. …

If Dart was in the Class of 2026, he’d be QB1 – and in the eyes of some talent evaluators, that would be by a mile. So ignore...