The New York Giants drafted quarterback Jaxson Dart in the first round with the hopes of developing him into a franchise quarterback.
Clearly, they feel he has the tools to elicit real upside. But refining those tools and getting him up to NFL speed with his pre-snap operation and post-snap processing could take some time, a path made easier with Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston ahead of him on the depth chart.
Wilson will start in Week 1, and Dart will get the opportunity to learn in one of the league’s most experienced quarterback rooms, not to mention head coach Brian Daboll, who was hired to develop a passer.
Part of that process will be refining his mechanics, which can get erratic at times (despite some nuanced flashes). After a clip from rookie camp spread on social media, Giants fans were left panicking over one of Dart’s mechanical habits.
Sometimes, Dart will flip the ball in his hands during his dropback, as was captured at a recent practice.
Rest assured, for all the reasons to be concerned about Dart, this isn’t one of them.
He’s done it before in college during his time at Mississippi, but it wasn’t littered in his film, nor did it get him into trouble. The habit seems to be for comfort. If by the end of the spin, his hands rest comfortably on the ball and he can deliver it confidently, great! But he’s not doing this with an unblocked edge rusher screaming at him. He’s not going to be doing it in the rain or snow of East Rutherford.
This is more of a mechanical quirk than a nagging habit, and a rare one at that. Dart fumbled just 14 times in his college career – far from a concern. His sack rates were higher outside of play action than with it, but his feel for the pocket wasn’t nearly the concern it was for Daniel Jones.
Jones, notably, had a ball pat that (while also not a death sentence) was more of an issue than Dart’s flip.
Working within structure, operating a pro-style offense, and proving his tools are as strong as his supporters suggest are all far more important hurdles to clear than cleaning up a ball flip that may not appear in an NFL game.