Rookie Jaxson Dart’s inevitable rise to Giants starting quarterback has now materialized.
It should have happened prior to the start of the regular season. But with the team now 0-3 heading into a Week 4 matchup against the 3-0 Los Angeles Chargers this Sunday (1 p.m.) at home at MetLife Stadium with an offense that has not revealed itself to be capable of consistently scoring enough points to provide a semblance of winning games, change was necessary.
Dart is replacing 14-year veteran Russell Wilson, who was signed by the Giants in March to a one-year, $21 million contract with $10.5 guaranteed as essentially an expensive temp worker. When the franchise’s co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch, general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll collectively decided to trade up in this past April’s NFL Draft to select Dart from Ole Miss (University of Mississippi) in the first round with the 25th overall pick, it was with the clear vision that he could be the quarterback to return the franchise to perennial playoff contention — and, ultimately, a Super Bowl.
The Giants sent the 34th and 99th picks in this year’s draft, along with a third-rounder in next year’s, to the Houston Texans in order to move up to No. 25 and grab Dart. Giving up that kind of draft capital made clear the front office’s belief that Dart could be the force multiplier the team has lacked since Eli Manning led them to Super Bowl titles in 2008 and 2012 — an eternity in football years. Since then, the Giants have reached the playoffs just once in the past eight seasons: a 2022 wild-card berth with Daniel Jones, who now has the Indianapolis Colts off to a 3-0 start in his first year as their starting quarterback.
The Giants’ current switch at QB is more about beginning the Dart era than ending the 36-year-old Wilson’s short-lived tenure. Wilson will receive consideration as a Pro Football Hall of Fame candidate after his retirement. But he is past his prime and was not going to be a difference maker in moving the Giants needle towards a winning season. They still have too many deficiencies across the roster. So starting Dart from Week 1 was logical and had the most efficacy in preparing him to face the ever evolving sophisticated and complex NFL defenses.
Wilson was only partly responsible for the Giants scoring just six points in Week 1 versus the Washington Commanders on the road (21-6) and only nine (22-9) last Sunday in their 2025 home opener facing the Kansas City Chiefs. The 37 points and 450 yards passing by Wilson the offense produced against the Dallas Cowboys (40-37 overtime loss) in Week 2 was a mirage because the Cowboys defense has proven to be horrendous.
Wins will be few and far between for the Giants over the next 14 games, just as they were last season (3–14) and the year before (6–11) under Schoen and Daboll, following a 9-7-1 wildcard run in their first year as GM and head coach. Both signed five-year deals in January 2022, but if the losses keep piling up, Dart may soon find himself playing for a different front office and coaching staff.
The 0-3 Jets will face the 0-3 Dolphins in Miami on Monday night (7:15 p.m.)