Jaxson Dart, the New York Giants’ rookie quarterback and 25th overall draft pick, is set to make his NFL debut in the team’s preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills. Head coach Brian Daboll confirmed Dart will play, though it remains unclear whether he will appear in the first or second half.
“This is just the start of a dream of mine,” Dart said. “So, I’m excited to take that next step, be out there, compete at the highest level. My family’s going to be there, so I’m super excited to have them a part of this journey with me and I think that’s really it. I’m just stoked for the opportunity.”
Dart was selected after the Giants traded up during the draft and paired him with fellow first-rounder Abdul Carter. Shortly after being drafted, Dart connected with Bills quarterback Josh Allen—who recently won his first league MVP award and began his career under Daboll’s guidance as offensive coordinator in 2018.
“He’s been somebody who I’ve really looked up to and since coming here, just watching a ton of his tape and how he was able to operate Coach Dabs’ system,” Dart said. “It’s going to be kind of a surreal feeling to be on the same field as him.”
Learning Daboll’s offense has presented challenges for Dart, but he remains focused on mastering its fundamentals.
“This is the only NFL offense I can really compare it to, so it’s all that I know of at this moment,” Dart said. “You hear people say that, but I think that when you’re kind of able to get the base fundamentals of it down, then you’re able to just obviously grow your knowledge and what not. There’s been long nights of just studying and sitting in my room and just trying to get it down. I’m excited for the future.”
Allen offered advice centered on leadership responsibilities beyond understanding schemes.
“He talked a lot about leadership,” Dart said. “That was kind of like his main thing and then trying to be the best teammate for the guys around you because as a quarterback, you have to raise the standards of everybody. Obviously, schematics, I think that what shows up on Coach Dabs’ record is being able to coach many different quarterbacks who have different skill sets and kind of molding offenses around what they’re good at, so kind of just hone in on the key details of Coach Dabs’ offense and really trust it. I think, at times, maybe quarterbacks will predetermine things and not really trust the system, but the special thing about Coach Dabs is he gives us a ton of freedom, so there’s answers to everything that you can really think of.”
The Giants coaching staff brings additional experience developing top quarterbacks: Assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Mike Kafka worked with Patrick Mahomes during his rookie season with Kansas City; quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney coached Russell Wilson early in his college career.
“I’d say Jaxson is right on schedule from what we’d expect in terms of just understanding the offense, continuing to grow and learn every day,” Kafka said. “Every day we’re presenting him – not just him but all the quarterbacks – with different situations and some situations you’ve probably never seen before. Those have been good to build off of… Now he’s starting to put the picture together a little bit better and cleaner for a rookie.”
Kafka also shared advice based on his own playing experience: “I think for Jaxson, for a young player – I know from my experience… he’s out there calming them down and having great poise and great confidence,” Kafka said. “And then just going and playing football. It’s a game you love and you know. You’ve been playing it for a long time. My biggest piece of advice is just go out there, enjoy it, play, have fun and go be aggressive.”
