On Tuesday, Giants head coach Brian Daboll announced that 2025 first-round pick Jaxson Dart will be the starter for the remainder of the season.
Dart replaces Hall of Fame hopeful Russel Wilson after a disappointing 0-3 start to the Giants’ season and a pummeling on Sunday Night Football against the Kansas City Chiefs. Early into Daboll’s Monday press conference, he essentially said he didn’t have a locked-in starter this week, which raised eyebrows but pretty much confirmed this move was coming.
The 22-year-old, Dart has the tough task of turning around this Giants season or, at the very least, buying Brian Daboll another year, giving the team something to look forward to.
Dart stunned during the preseason, but now he will be facing first-string talent and real NFL defensive schemes. This starts this Sunday against the 3-0 Los Angeles Chargers and their top 5-ranked defense. This is far from a soft landing for the rookie, but this will serve as a trial by fire situation where, through the next 15 weeks, the Giants may learn if they have their guy long-term
If you asked any Giants higher-ups how they would picture the season if it went as well as possible, no answer you would get would include Dart being the starting quarterback in Week 4. That is because Wilson was supposed to be the guy to bring the Giants back to being competitive in the short term while helping develop Dart for the long term.
Wilson will not play another snap for the Giants, likely ever again, and hopefully for his sake, he will get a trade or buyout worked out. There is a quarterback vacancy that needs to be filled in Cincinnati, so time will tell if that materializes.
Daboll hand-picked Dart when the Giants traded back into the first round. As a coach, he hasn’t seen much QB success with the Giants; however, he helped immensely in the development of megastar Josh Allen when he was an offensive coordinator in Buffalo. If Daboll can replicate that formula with the young Dart, he will both keep his job for years to come and get the credit of being a QB whisperer for the remainder of his football life.
Undoubtedly, the move seems desperate; perhaps desperation is exactly what Big Blue needs, but one thing is for certain. The future is now in East Rutherford.
