Dart Impresses: Giants Rookie QB Captivates in Preseason

Positive Impressions of Jaxson Dart on the Giants

The initial assessments of the young New York Giants quarterback, Jaxson Dart, have been favorable during the spring. Dart, selected in the 25th position of this year’s draft, has mainly worked with the second team’s offense, behind Russell Wilson and ahead of Jameis Winston and Tommy DeVito. In his last play of Tuesday’s minicamp, he threw a deep touchdown pass down the right sideline. Giants head coach Brian Daboll commented on Dart’s performance:

He has been excellent at assimilating information. It’s very good to have Russ, Jameis, and even Tommy, because Tommy has been in this system for a few years. He has adapted well with those guys. He’s smart, aggressive with the ball, which I like. The real test will be when we start with live hits and preseason games. He has progressed since he arrived, he has improved.

Brian Daboll

Dart began the spring working with the third team while learning the Giants’ offense, but in the last three practices open to the media, he has been with the second team. He has also had some repetitions with the first team, which seems to be part of Daboll’s development plan for the young quarterback. Daboll also mentioned:

It’s good to put him with the ones. There’s a level of anxiety for young players when they’re thrown into the mix. Sometimes we just say “go in there”. He has to call plays in front of veterans who have done it at a high level. I think that’s important. Or put him with the threes for a while, where he has to instruct some guys who are asking questions… and try to put him in as many different situations as possible.

Brian Daboll

Wilson has worked exclusively with the first-team offense this spring and is expected to be the Giants’ starting quarterback at the start of the summer. The quarterbacks coach, Shea Tierney, expressed his impression of Dart:

It’s been impressive to see how he’s prepared and made the transition to become a professional. We thought that about him, which is one of the reasons we liked him. He’s done a very good job of coming here and understanding what he has to do to become a professional and approaching it the right way.

Shea Tierney

Dart’s spring culminated in a good performance on Tuesday, throwing a precise pass to the right corner of the end zone, which was received by the undrafted wide receiver Dalen Cambre. Jameis Winston commented on the touchdown:

We love all touchdowns. I don’t think there’s been a touchdown I haven’t liked in my life. So we were excited about that. But it’s just the beginning.

Jameis Winston