Being a New York Giants fan has meant living through more frustration than celebration. I grew up watching seasons where hope faded by Halloween. There was no consistency at quarterback with an offense that never seemed to belong.
That history shapes how I see Jaxson Dart now. When the New York Giants selected Dart with the 25th pick of the 2025 NFL draft, I hated the decision.
I did not see why we needed to draft a QB when there was a much better QB class next year, that included Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza, Oregon QB Dante Moore and pre-injury Penn State QB Drew Allar, who had a season ending left ankle injury.
Then you add the NYG signing QBs Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston and it made no sense to me. We could have drafted another defensive player, especially in the secondary, to strengthen our defense even more. Nope, we drafted a QB that no one believed was even a first-round pick to begin with.
However, the front office of the NYG knew something that I did not. General Manager Joe Schoen traded back into Round One after landing outside linebacker from Penn State Abdul Carter at pick No. 3. to take Dart at No. 25, giving up the No. 34 and No. 99 picks and a 2026 third-rounder to Houston.
A four-year, $16.9 million fully guaranteed contract with the team, which included an $8.9 million signing bonus, is all that was needed to show that the Giants were all in on their young QB.
Now fast forward to October 2025, and all my doubts look stupid, and I can admit that I was wrong.
In his first three starts, Dart went 56 of 85 for 508 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions, plus 167 rushing yards and two scores. He ran for at least 50 rushing yards in each of those starts.
He delivered a debut for the ages with a win over the 3-0 Chargers, which was then followed by an awful loss to the New Orleans Saints, where the NYG turned the ball over on five consecutive drives in a 26-14 loss.
Then Dart and the Giants answered three nights later by upsetting the defending Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, 34-17 on Thursday Night Football. Dart threw for 195 and ran for 58 with two total touchdowns.
I was watching that game live and I could not believe we were dominating the Eagles. It felt like a completely different team. I mean, we just lost to the Saints, and then we came off a short rest to beat the Champs — that’s probably why millions of NYG fans and I were going totally nuts.
I say that as someone who lived the quarterback roller coaster after Eli Manning’s retirement, my generation has watched the likes of quaterbacks like Daniel Jones, Colt McCoy, Mike Glennon, Jake Fromm, Tyrod Taylor, Drew Lock, Tommy DeVito and this fall, Russell Wilson grace our screens to see them make a joke out of the position.
None of this ignores the reality that Dart now faces. The Giants lost wide reciever Malik Nabers to a torn ACL in Week four, which stripped the passing game of its top receiver.
When your WR1 is on the shelf, the quarterback must be the problem solver. Dart has taken that on, and the front office has reportedly explored receiver options because the best way to evaluate a rookie is to give him real help.
What convinces me now is his connection to head coach Brian Daboll. This is the same offensive mind that gave us QB Josh Allen, and he has not been able to work with a QB from the beginning.
Scouting reports of Dart that came out of Ole Miss described him as a rhythm passer with clean-pocket efficiency and quick decision-making. This is how Daboll runs his offense, making Dart the perfect experiment to execute Daboll’s vision.
If you have watched this team since 2012, like me, you know the failures that have defined the last decade. So many players and coaches have come and left, and we have missed out on the primes of so many of our past and present players. Dart’s arrival does not fix every issue, but it gives New York something to build around.
I acknowledge that I was quick to hate the NYG for drafting Dart, but after seeing so many bad picks and going all in on the wrong players, just for it to backfire in the worst ways, can you blame me for thinking the same things with Dart?
Now, having seen firsthand what this team has become over the last couple of weeks, I have confidence that Dart is a rookie who owns the ball, moves the chains when the first read disappears and competes even if he puts himself in harm’s way.
That is why I believe Dart is the future, and that belief comes from the heart of a lifelong fan who wants nothing more than to see his team reach the finish line.
