Giants Rookie QB Jaxson Dart Is the Spark The Giants Have Been Waiting For

I’m not one to overreact to the NFL preseason, or even care about it. But it’s impossible to ignore how good New York Giants rookie QB Jaxson Dart has looked this summer. Dart has completed 68.1% of his passes (32-for-47) for 372 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions with a 113.1 QB Rating. He's added 52 rushing yards and a rushing TD on six carries. 

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More importantly, New York is 3-0 in the preseason and has scored 31+ points in those games. The Giants have scored in five of Dart's seven full preseason drives. I say "full" because QB Jameis Winston threw a 27-yard TD on his first play after replacing Dart, who went into the blue medical tent, in NYG's 42-10 win over the New England Patriots Thursday. 

That’s neither here nor there. The point is, Dart looks legit, and as Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit said during Amazon’s broadcast of the Patriots-Giants Thursday, "There is a different vibe in New York". That "vibe" is the Giants knowing they finally have their quarterback of the future. And it's a massive vibe change after the miserable QB Daniel Jones' era. 

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Yet, still, New York head coach Brian Daboll insists Russell Wilson is QB1. Which is stupid and lame because nothing Wilson does this season matters. He isn’t leading them to a Super Bowl, and fans would rather watch Dart learn on the job than watch Russell be mediocre. At best, he helps NYG compete for the division, and that would require down years for the rest of the NFC East. 

Giants general manager Joe Schoen traded back into the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft to take Dart, making him the first quarterback selected in the Schoen-Daboll era. So, let's be real: Schoen's and Daboll's futures in New York depend on developing Dart into the franchise quarterback they’ve been searching for. The sooner he plays, the better.

New York Giants QB Jaxson Dart celebrates his rushing touchdown vs. the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in the 2025 NFL preseason. (Photo Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images)

There are two Giants-related ways Daboll can go about this: The "Russell Wilson Way" or the "Eli Manning Style". I’m not even entertaining the "Pat Mahomes Method," where Dart holds a clipboard for his entire rookie season. Like New York this offseason, the Seattle Seahawks took a buckshot approach to finding their new quarterback in 2012. 

Related: GIANTS WR SLAMMED FOR DROPS WHILE ROOKIE QB JAXSON DART STILL LOOKS AMAZING

The Seahawks signed QB Matt Flynn in free agency, then picked Wilson in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Seattle’s original plan was to start Flynn with the hopes of Russell eventually taking over the starting job. However, Russell out-played Flynn in the preseason and, as the saying goes, "the rest was history". Granted, Wilson is now much better than Flynn was then. 

In fact, Russell is now more similar to Hall of Fame QB Kurt Warner in 2004. This leads me to my next Dart comp, fellow Ole Miss quarterback and Giants icon, Eli, who was taken No. 1 overall in the 2004 NFL Draft by the then-San Diego Chargers and forced his way to New York. Warner was a placeholder for Manning, like Wilson is expected to be for Dart. 

And even though the 2004 Giants started 5-2 with Warner under center, NYG stuck to the original plan and replaced him with Eli. Regardless, it’s not a question of if Dart takes over the starting job this year; it’s when. Given Dart's modern game and how hungry Giants fans are for hope, sooner is better than later. 

Betting Angle: New York Giants QB Jaxson Dart (+2500) to win 2025-26 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year 

The likelihood of Dart beginning the season on the bench is why he isn't the third-betting favorite for this award. Dart was +3500 at DraftKings, but the betting market is getting the same vibe about him as Giants' fans. Maybe I'm drinking the Kool-Aid, but it's kind of ridiculous that New York was able to draft him 25th overall in the first place. 

Dart led college football last season in QB Rating and yards per pass. He led the SEC, where "It just means more," in completion percentage (69.3%) and passing yards (4,279), while throwing for 29 TDs and six INTs. People can downplay that, but Daboll has proven he can build a system around his quarterback. 

The Giants head coach helped develop reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen, who was drafted as a "project," as the Buffalo Bills' offensive coordinator from 2018-2021. I mean, for Christ's sake, Daboll got Daniel Jones and the Giants to the 2022 NFC playoffs and won a playoff game. If he can do that with sh*t-a** Daniel Jones, Daboll can coach up Dart. 

Also, the cupboard isn't bare in New York. Dart has a franchise tackle, Andrew Thomas, blocking his blindside, and Giants WR Malik Nabers is an absolute game-breaker. Plus, there's a world where NYG has a top-10 defense this season behind what could be an insane pass rush if they hit on No. 3 overall pick, Abdul Carter. 

Ultimately, between his potential, New York's coaching staff, and a weak 2025 NFL rookie class, Dart to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year at +2500 is a future that should be in your betting portfolio. 

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Follow me on X (or Twitter, whatever) @Geoffery-Clark, and check out my OutKick Bets Podcast for more betting content and random rants. Track my NFL 2025-26 bets here.