The Giants brought in veteran quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston as unrestricted free agents before picking up Jaxson Dart in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. When appearing on NFL Network, Ian Rapoport said he still expects Wilson to be their Week 1 starter, but it seems to be a matter of “when, not if” Dart assumes the starting role.
“Russell Wilson is going to be the starter. There’s no surprise there. I expect Russell Wilson to take the first snap with the first team in the first game for the Giants,” Rapoport said. “You listen to everything Brian Daboll says, you get an understanding of how far along Jaxson Dart is, and where you think he’s going to go. It’s clearly a matter of when, not if.”
Rapoport reflects on a video from New York’s draft room, where GM Joe Schoen approaches Daboll after selecting Dart.
“I go back to the clip right inside the draft room, after they made that big trade up to go get [Dart]. Joe Schoen looks at Brian Daboll and says, ‘You got your guy.’ It is clear that this is Brian Daboll’s guy after years and years of not running out his guy,” Rapoport said.
Back in May, Ralph Vacchiano reported that the plan for Dart is to start at third on the depth chart behind Wilson and Winston.
Vacchiano notes both Daboll and Schoen are under pressure to generate better results and win more games in 2025, which led to them signing both Wilson and Winston to raise the floor for the offense and allow Dart time to develop.
However, Dart was drafted to be the quarterback of the future, and Vacchiano notes Daboll will have to balance getting Wilson and Winston the snaps they need in practice to be ready to perform at a high level while also getting Dart more reps than third-string quarterbacks usually have access to.
Citing a source, Vacchiano says Daboll plans to “sprinkle in” reps for Dart during practice, both in camp and during the season, to keep Dart invested in every rep, not knowing when he might be asked to step in. He also plans to work with Dart in post-practice sessions with the coaching staff.
Dart, 21, was a four-star recruit ranked as the No. 2 player in Utah and the No. 13 overall QB in the 2021 recruiting class. He committed to USC in December 2020 and spent one year there before entering the transfer portal. He committed to Ole Miss and spent the next three seasons there.
The Giants used the No. 25 overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft on Dart. He’s projected to sign a four-year, $16,954,982 contract that includes a $8,970,895 signing bonus. The contract includes a fifth-year option for the team to pick up in 2028.
In his collegiate career, Dart appeared in 45 games over four seasons and completed 65.2 percent of his passes for 11,970 yards, 81 touchdowns and 27 interceptions. He also rushed 393 times for 1,541 yards and 14 touchdowns.
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