Jaxson Dart
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One NFL analyst knows exactly when Jaxson Dart will become the starting QB for the 2025 New York Giants.
Selecting Jaxson Dart in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft was supposed to be done with a wait-and-see plan for the young quarterback, but one analyst knows exactly when the rookie will make his first start for the New York Giants.
The prediction came from NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, who discussed Dart’s situation on an episode of “The Rich Eisen Show.” Jeremiah pinpointed the exact week and game Dart will unseat veteran starting signal-caller Russell Wilson.
As Jeremiah envisages, “Look at Week 6 to Week 7, 10-day gap there, after the Thursday night game against Philly, which by the way, with that group in Philadelphia I’d be okay with him missing that game. that’s kind of where it would be. So it would be at Denver, Week 7. That’s my early prediction.”
Keeping Dart away from the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles and their powerful defensive front makes sense, but the Denver Broncos also own a pretty stout defense. One tough enough to rank third in points and seventh in yards last season, per Pro Football Reference.
The Broncos would be a daunting opponent for Dart’s first regular-season start, which begs the question why would the Giants throw the former Ole Miss star into the mix so early?
Giants Making Positive Noises About Jaxson Dart
It’s a sensible question when the Giants added 10-time Pro Bowler Wilson and former No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston to provide some veteran assurance at football’s most important position.
Yet, both of those moves were made before Big Blue general manager Joe Schoen traded back into Round 1 to get Dart with the 25th pick. That deal was struck to give head coach Brian Daboll “his guy” at quarterback, something Jeremiah believes makes it more likely Dart will play sooner than many anticipate.
Jeremiah pointed out if “you just kind of listen to the words of Brian Daboll, and you kind of, just got the sense like this was his guy. Like he’s invested in him and he seems to really, really like him. He had Josh Allen, and once they got him in there, they were able to learn through some of the mistakes and get to a really good place.”
The references to how Daboll developed Josh Allen into a Pro Bowler for the Buffalo Bills are key to trying to decipher the Giants’ plans for Dart. There’s a comparison to be made between Dart and Allen as strong-armed, big-bodied and mobile playmakers.
Dart offered an exciting glimpse of his talent for throwing on the move with this connection to Lil’Jordan Humphrey at minicamp, highlighted by SNY.tv’s Giants Videos.
Giants Videos
Jaxson Dart on the run to Lil’Jordan Humphrey!
Keeping that level of athletic talent on the bench won’t suit Daboll, who’s under no-small amount of pressure after winning just nine games in two years. It’s why Jeremiah doesn’t think this will be “a red-shirt year for him (Dart), as they hand the ball to Russell Wilson for a full season. I think we’re gonna see a lot of Jaxson Dart this year.”
Momentum is already trending toward Jeremiah’s prediction coming true.
Momentum Building for Giants to Play Jaxson Dart
Jeremiah isn’t the only one thinking Dart won’t spend too long sat on the lumber. His NFL Network colleague Tom Pelissero also told Eisen, “Russell Wilson’s going to continue to take the vast majority of the No. 1 snaps. He’s going to be QB1 as we go into training camp and as we enter the first preseason game. However, we’ve seen situations evolve in the past, there have been plenty of times where a team has said, ‘hey, we’ve got a guy in place and we’re gonna stick with that player,’ and then all of a sudden, you kind of look at in the preseason and it’s like, okay, you probably got to put the rookie on the field sooner, ’cause he just looks better.”
Whether Dart looks better than Wilson and Winston will play out during training camp. So far, the 22-year-old hasn’t overly impressed observers.
This is an inauspicious start to life in the pros for the player Schoen and Daboll are backing to solve long-standing quarterback problems for the franchise. It means Dart can expect more close monitoring from Daboll at training camp, the way the coach kept tabs on the passer during rookie minicamp, per Dan Duggan of The Athletic.
Dan Duggan
This has been the scene throughout practice: Daboll closely watching Jaxson Dart in drills and then conversing with the QB after every series of reps
Daboll and Schoen need Dart to be NFL-ready as quickly as possible. Even if it means exposing the rookie to a defense as stingy as the Broncos’ unit.