The Giants’ brain trust of general manager Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll pulled one of the more notable moves of the 2025 NFL Draft when they traded back into the first round to select Ole Miss passer Jaxson Dart.
The selection gives Schoen and Daboll an opportunity to find the next franchise passer after the failures of Daniel Jones. For now, it doesn’t look like Dart is going to challenge for QB1 on the depth chart.
Speaking after Round 1 of the draft, Schoen and Daboll made it clear that Russell Wilson is the starter entering the next phase of New York’s offseason program, leaving a couple of hurdles for Dart to leap to earn the starter spot.
‘Russ will be our starter, and that’s how it will be once we get started here in the spring,’ Daboll told the media following Round 1. ‘The process of developing a quarterback is just that. So we’re going to do everything we can to develop him and bring him along.’
Wilson comes to the Giants after a middling season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. New York signed the passer on a one-year, $21 million contract, joining Jameis Winston, who signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the Giants earlier this offseason.
Daboll added that experience, play time and ‘medals on the wall’ factor into the decision and that both Winston and Wilson have ‘added value’ to the quarterback room.
The Giants head coach stopped short of using the words ‘Week 1 starter’ for Wilson, potentially leaving the door open for Dart to make inroads towards that starting quarterback job should he impress over the summer.
Dart’s draft standing was somewhat murky entering Round 1. The quarterback was seemingly jockeying for position with Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders throughout the pre-draft process.
Sanders is still available as teams line up to make their picks on Day 2.
Dart finished the 2024 college season with 4,279 passing yards and 29 touchdowns to six interceptions.
