Big Blue View
NFL teams typically don’t wait long to get their guy on the field, for better or worse
For a team coming off a 3-14 season, there seems to be considerable excitement surrounding the New York Giants coming off their rookie minicamp this week. Adding a potentially elite pass rusher in Abdul Carter has something to do with that (even if most of the attention so far has been on his uniform number). The great value Joe Schoen seems to have gotten with his Day 2 and 3 picks is another reason: Schoen got defensive tackle Darius Alexander at No. 65 when the consensus big board had him at No. 51. He got running back Cam Skattebo at No. 105 when the big board had him at No. 91. He got offensive lineman Marcus Mbow in Round 5 (No. 154) when the big board had him as an early third round value (No. 65).
Let’s face it, though. All eyes are on No. 6 in your program, quarterback Jaxson Dart. Schoen did well in only giving up a third-round comp pick and a 2026 third-round pick to move up to No. 25 for Dart, and he didn’t panic and give up more to get ahead of other QB-needy teams such as Pittsburgh. So props to him. It all hinges, though, on whether or not Dart turns out to be the real deal. No one will remember the other draft picks if Dart turns out to be the second coming of Daniel Jones. (Proof: How many fans think the Giants’ 2019 draft was great because they got Dexter Lawrence in the bottom half of the first round?)
The early returns are encouraging. We get to see only snippets of Dart on the field looking good throwing passes, and Giants Life gives us a peek at how Dart’s Top 30 visit and grilling in front of the hierarchy went down (pretty well to the untrained eye). His first interactions with the beat writers show someone much more comfortable in the spotlight than Jones ever was. It’s all good.
Still, we know he has a lot to learn about the NFL. Snap count cadences as opposed to clapping. Reactions to post-snap defensive shifts. Going through full-field read progressions. Playing behind the center with much less play-action. And so on. There’s no way to tell right now whether he’ll absorb all that easily, translate it to decisions on the field, and become a top-flight NFL quarterback, or whether he’ll go the way of so many highly drafted quarterbacks that never make it.
The big immediate question: When will Dart see the field in real games, and when will he become the starter?
A better question is: When should Dart - or any other drafted QB - become a starter?
The Giants have taken three previous major shots at drafting a potential starting QB during the time that I’ve followed them:
*1979: Phil Simms. Simms was a raw QB from a small school, and he sat...
