Every starting quarterback has to start somewhere.
The New York Giants traded back into Round 1 for the rights to draft Jaxson Dart as the class’ second quarterback. They did so with Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston signed in the six weeks prior.
And on Friday, a next big step as Dart signed his four-year, fully guaranteed $17 million contract.
New York’s plan is for Dart to sit for the majority, if not the entirety, of the 2025 season. With an extra veteran in the room, head coach Brian Daboll can make sure he doesn’t start by accident after Wilson pulls a hamstring or tweaks an ankle.
But as the realities of in-season adversity hit, Dart’s Giants debut could arrive early.
Subsequently, Mike Clay is projecting real rookie-year action for the Mississippi product.
“Dart will begin his career behind Russell Wilson and perhaps also Jameis Winston, but history suggests the No. 25 pick will make a Year 1 impact,” Clay wrote for ESPN. “From 2011 to 2024, 38 of 47 first-round QBs (81%) took over as the starter prior to Week 10. Twenty-three (49%) started in Week 1, including Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix last season. Of the seven QBs picked in the 20-32 range, six played as rookies and four took over before Week 5. Jordan Love was the only exception since he backed up Aaron Rodgers for three seasons.”
Wilson will get a chance to start because he gives New York the best chance to win, and for as long as a leash as Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen seem to have, at some point their team needs to win.
After heavy investments into the defense and the addition of a competent starter, they are out of excuses. But if things go badly in the early parts of the season, that aforementioned plan can change. Owner John Mara can go back on his word.
Daboll won’t go down his ship without exhausting every option.
Dart may have to flash in practice to truly get the ball rolling. But adversity is inevitable in the NFL, and job security isn’t.
It won’t take much for every week to become the game Dart potentially makes his entrance. … and if he becomes a starter, and a good one? A rookie contract will make him an NFL-leading bargain.