By John Rigolizzo
The New York Giants named Jaxson Dart their starting quarterback for the Week 4 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers. The 25th overall pick in this year’s Draft showed promise in the preseason while learning behind veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston. After the Giants began the season 0-3, head coach Brian Daboll decided to see what his young gun could do.
“I met both with Russ yesterday, and Jaxson privately, and Russ was nothing but a pro, which I would expect him to be,” Daboll said at a Sept. 24 press conference. “We’re going with Jaxson. We’re going to get him ready to play this week and the remainder of the season.”
Daboll confirmed that Wilson would be the backup behind Dart. He didn’t give details, preferring to keep his conversations with the two quarterbacks private.
Daboll expressed confidence that Dart has done enough to earn the job.
“I don’t think any rookie quarterback is ever just ready to play,” he said. “You put him in there because you think that he’s done enough to show you that he can go out there and compete, and he’s done that every step of the way. And that’s why I made the decision.”
Dart had an impressive showing in the preseason. Over three games, he completed 32 of his 47 passes for 372 yards and 3 touchdowns, without an interception. He also added 6 rushes for 51 yards and a score.
Dart will look to add a spark to a Giants offense that has struggled to score so far this year.
They did not score a touchdown in their season opener, a 21-6 loss to the Washington Commanders.
Wilson went 17-of-37 passing for 168 yards. In Week 2’s matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, Wilson showed flashes of his old self, going 30-of-41 for 450 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, including two of his trademark moon balls for go-ahead scores in the fourth quarter. The Giants came up short in a 40-37 overtime loss. Wilson crashed back to earth in a 22-9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, going 18-of-32 for 160 yards and two interceptions.
Daboll did not set outlandish expectations for Dart in his first regular-season action.
“I think it‘ll be a work in progress relative to him playing in his first game,” he said. “There’ll be some things that he hasn’t seen. We’ll try to do the best we can for him relative to our scheme, but it’s going to take everybody. It’s going to take the offensive line, the defense, the kicking game.”
Daboll, who developed a young Josh Allen into a superstar with the Buffalo Bills, said his rookie needs to simply “go out there and do his job,” make good decisions with the football, improvise if the situation calls for it, and take care of the football.
He said Dart was going to do everything in his power to prepare for the game. He later added that he expected Dart to improve each time he plays.
Dart and the coaching staff have already built up a post-practice routine to help him be ready for his opportunities.
In addition to his work as the scout team quarterback, presenting the opponents’ offensive looks to the Giants’ starting defense, Daboll revealed that Dart will take some of the backups and go through the offensive call sheet for the week. He runs every play on the sheet after every practice to visualize how it is run.
The month of October figures to be a true trial by fire for Dart.
After facing the undefeated Chargers on Sunday, New York will travel to New Orleans to play the struggling Saints on Oct. 5. Four days after that, New York will host the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday Night Football. On Oct. 19, the Giants will travel to Denver to play the Broncos, who previously held first overall pick Cam Ward to just 112 yards passing in their season opener against the Tennessee Titans. They will return only to face the Eagles again.
Dart was drafted out of Ole Miss with the 25th overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft. The Giants traded back into the first round, giving up their second and third-round pick and a 2026 third-rounder to the Houston Texans to take Dart.
