No turning back now, Giants all in on Jaxson Dart as QB starter

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It was the question hovering over the New York Giants ever since the 2025 NFL draft in late April.

When were they going to turn to rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart?

There were plans and hopes and dreams of Russell Wilson magically finding the fountain of youth while serving as the bridge quarterback to the No. 25 pick out of Ole Miss. It didn’t matter. The answer ultimately was Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Dart will be the Giants’ starter against the Chargers at MetLife Stadium on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS). The decision came down Tuesday after coach Brian Daboll left the door open to a change on Monday.

At that point, it was over. There was no turning back. Dart starts and Wilson will be the backup.

This was always going to be the way it played out. Wilson would start until the Giants couldn’t justify him being the starter anymore. At that point, Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen, in need of results, would have no choice but to turn to Dart.

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The Giants (0-3) are one of six winless teams. Their head coach and GM are under pressure, having amassed a 9-28 record since the start of the 2023 season, and in 2025 their offense has produced fewer than 300 yards of offense in two of the three games.

“I’m aware of how many games we’ve won and obviously the results are not even close to what we want them to be,” Giants owner John Mara said this past January. “They’re going to have to get better if we’re going to move on to year [five].”

It’s impossible to ignore those words with another lost season potentially on the horizon. And so far, the results haven’t been better, prompting the move to Dart. It’s perhaps the final card for Daboll and Schoen to play.

In an ideal world, the Giants would have liked to win enough games so that Dart could essentially have a redshirt season. Schoen shook his head seemingly in agreement at this idea after the draft.

At the very least, the Giants were hoping Wilson and his leadership could produce a better product than previous years and win enough games to hold off the decision until the second half of the season. That didn’t happen either, even if Wilson had a 450-yard performance in Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys.

The Giants couldn’t justify it anymore at 0-3 with four of their next six games against undefeated opponents. Schoen and Daboll couldn’t justify it anymore with the pressure on them.

And so they decided Dart was ready to be the Giants’ backup after three weeks into the season. The development plan with numerous checkpoints they had talked about for months was no longer a factor.

In fact, this was inevitable early in the season the moment the Giants made Dart the backup ahead of Jameis Winston for Week 1. Dart was a rolled ankle from Wilson away from entering his first regular-season game in that role. It signified that the Giants already thought he was ready to play after a strong summer and preseason.

Dart ultimately played six snaps over the past two weeks in special short-yardage and red zone packages. He has yet to throw an NFL pass. That will change on Sunday.

“Well we put him in the game the last two weeks,” Daboll said earlier this week. “So we wouldn’t put anyone in the game we don’t feel confident with.”

This move is all about Dart, and Schoen and Daboll, and little to do with Wilson. The Giants traded back into the first round to select Dart after sources told ESPN that he was Daboll’s quarterback of choice. Dart quickly established himself as the No. 2 quarterback ahead of Winston early on in training camp and only got better as the summer progressed.

A strong preseason increased the public’s insatiable desire to see Dart as the team’s starter. It reached the point in the home opener on Sunday that fans booed Wilson after an interception late in the first half of a tie game. There were chants of “We want Dart!” at other points of the game.

It’s important to note that Wilson was never the Giants’ first choice this offseason. It makes it easier to move off him. They first tried to land Matthew Stafford, did a dalliance with the Tennessee Titans with Cam Ward in mind and were held hostage for a few weeks in hopes that a 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers would choose them. Rodgers eventually picked the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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The Giants went with Wilson and Winston as their veteran bridges to Dart. Wilson was handed the starting job the day he signed, but it was only temporary, or at least until they needed Dart.

Wilson hasn’t been great to start the season (aside from in Dallas). He still would have likely been the Giants’ starting quarterback had it not been for the situation around him.

The reality is that Wilson is sixth in the NFL in passing yards with 778 despite having been pressured on 46 dropbacks this season, tied for second with Cleveland’s Joe Flacco. Only Ward has been pressured more.

But that’s also where Dart can help. Wilson is 36 years old and not the athlete and running threat he once was after years of service with the Seahawks, Broncos and Steelers. Dart is the more athletic option and the Giants’ offense looked different with him this summer. The zone-read and run-pass option comes into play more with the athletic rookie behind center.

Schoen and Daboll hope that makes a difference, not only with how the offense looks but also in the win-loss column. And in how the organization’s future is portrayed as well.

Sure, that puts some pressure on Dart to produce immediately. That is what makes this different than Eli Manning taking over for Kurt Warner in Week 11 of the 2004 season or Daniel Jones replacing Manning in Week 3 of 2019.

The futures of the coach and general manager likely hinge on Dart’s instant success.