Jaxson Dart Shows Flashes of the Future as New York Giants Turn the Page

The New York Giants’ quarterback of the future has become their quarterback of the present.

Rookie Jaxson Dart isn’t the Giants’ savior, but he does appear capable of leading them to a better place than they have occupied in recent seasons.

The Giants, who have finished with a losing record in seven of the last eight seasons, used the 25th pick in the first round of the draft to grab Dart from Ole Miss, capping a whirlwind month in which the franchise signed 14-year veteran Russell Wilson and 11-year veteran Jameis Winston.

It took embattled head coach Brian Daboll just three games (all losses) to move on from Wilson and throw Dart into the deep end of the NFL pool while Winston continued to wait in the wings.

Dart made his NFL debut when he started a home game against the 3-0 Los Angeles Chargers on Sept. 28. The youngster’s dual-threat skills energized the Giants, whom he guided to his own 15-yard touchdown run on his first possession as a professional.

The rest of Dart’s day was pedestrian as his team’s other three scoring drives totaled just 49 yards, and he finished with 13 completions in 20 attempts for 111 yards and a touchdown and had nine non-scoring runs for 39 yards.

But Dart’s energy uplifted a team badly in need of uplifting. He was sacked five times and admitted later that he could have reduced that number by utilizing “cleaner” footwork in the pocket, and he wasn’t as eager to slide on runs as he should have been.

He sounded like a veteran in his post-game news conference when he noted that the exciting and encouraging debut “was just one game.”

The next game was his first road game to face the 0-4 New Orleans Saints in the raucous Caesars Superdome. The change of venue didn’t matter in the early going as Dart led a touchdown drive on the first possession for a second consecutive game and followed with another touchdown on the next possession, and his two scoring tosses to tight end Theo Johnson produced a 14-3 lead.

Then reality set in.

The rookie started to look like a rookie, and the winless Saints started to look as determined to get their first win as the winless Giants had a week earlier.

New York didn’t score during the final 43 minutes, and Dart threw two interceptions and lost a fumble when he dropped the football while running without being hit. His three turnovers headlined a total of five committed by the visitors.

New Orleans won 26-14, and Dart finished with 26 completions in 40 pass attempts for 202 yards and seven rushes for 55 yards.

In the locker room afterward, the 22-year-old embraced his responsibility as a leader and went to teammate after teammate to tell them, “This one is on me.”

Dart faces his biggest challenge yet when the Giants host the defending Super Bowl champion and NFC East rival Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night in East Rutherford, N.J.

The season will continue in the absence of one of Dart’s most valuable allies – star wide receiver Malik Nabers, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the win over the Chargers. The Eagles have two full games of tape on Dart to dissect, double what the Saints had and two more than the Chargers had.

Dart will continue to take lumps as he leads a below-average team. He will make rookie mistakes and periodically will show passing and running productivity as well as savvy that belie his first-year status.

There will be growing pains that accelerate growth.

Wilson’s best days are in the rearview mirror and fading from sight, as are Winston’s.

Dart has a long and bright future ahead of him.

And he’ll be bringing the rest of the Giants along for the ride.