Several days after the New York Giants signed Jameis Winston to a one-year, $8 million contract, the team also inked Russell Wilson to a one-year, $10.5 million deal (that could be worth up to $21 million).
The NFC East franchise then selected Jaxson Dart with the 25th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, forming a stacked quarterback room.
While Wilson has accomplished more throughout his NFL career — including a Super Bowl victory and 10 Pro Bowl selections — Winston is closer to his prime and is a former Pro Bowler as well. However, Dart brings excitement with him, and fans were eager for him to become the starter. Here’s how the Giants’ quarterback depth chart looks heading into Week 5.
Breaking Down the Giants’ QB Depth Chart
Considering the money the Giants gave Wilson and their pursuit of him after signing Winston, the 36-year-old had the edge in the battle for the starting quarterback job.
On July 23, Giants head coach Brian Daboll announced that Wilson would be the team’s starting quarterback for the 2025 NFL season.
However, it didn’t take long for Wilson to lose his job as he was benched after Week 3 following the Giants’ 0-3 start.
Jaxson Dart
The Giants made the bold decision to draft Dart ahead of Shedeur Sanders, and so far, it looks like they made the right decision. While Sanders is fighting for a chance in Cleveland, Dart has already emerged as the Giants’ next franchise quarterback.
Dart excelled in the preseason and made his first NFL start in Week 4. He led the Giants to a huge win against the Los Angeles Chargers, and fans in New York are very excited about him.
The Giants are 1-1 with Dart as their quarterback heading into Week 6, where they play the Philadelphia Eagles. In those two games, he has thrown for 313 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions.
Russell Wilson
Wilson was expected to be a veteran presence for a rookie QB that the Giants drafted, but he was asked to start. Unfortunately, the veteran failed to make the most of his opportunity.
He was benched after leading the Giants to an 0-3 start, and it turned out to be the right decision for the franchise. Wilson could potentially get traded to other quarterback-needy teams, as Dart is now the face of the Giants’ franchise.
Over the past three seasons, New York has allowed pressure on 41.4% of dropbacks, the highest rate in the league and seven full percentage points worse than the league average, which is concerning for any quarterback.
2024 Wilson Ranks, Passes Thrown 15+ Yards
- 1st in TD%
- 2nd in passer rating
- 8th in yards per pass
- 8th in completion percentage
Wilson was expected to give this offense an avenue to upside they lacked prior to agreeing on terms, but the floor remained low due to a flawed roster around the veteran signal-caller.
Wilson was fine after taking over as the starter from Fields, but he did not elevate Pittsburgh over what Fields provided or prove to be any “safer.” He finished the year with a -0.00 EPA/DB (23rd) and ranks outside the top 20 both from a clean pocket (0.23 EPA/DB) and when pressured (-0.38 EPA/DB).
Wilson has struggled in the fourth quarter of close games (28th) and had just a 38.8% conversion rate on third down (17th). He largely put together a solid showing on Wild Card Weekend. He finished with a B- grade on the week (80.5) and was far from the reason that the Steelers lost to the Baltimore Ravens.
Wilson finished with a 0.10 EPA/DB, 8.7 nYPA, and a 40% third-down conversion rate, all of which are good without being good enough. While he didn’t cost the Steelers the game, he didn’t really do anything to win it for them, either.
At one point, the former Seattle Seahawks star was the dual-threat standard, but as he has aged and the game has evolved, that’s simply no longer the case. His yards per pass attempt when outside of the pocket have dipped in three consecutive seasons, and in this, his age-36 season, any sort of rebound should be viewed as a major surprise, not a realistic expectation.
Jameis Winston
Winston is no more than a temporary fix to any ongoing problem for New York.
The Giants entered this offseason with a major question mark at the quarterback position, just as they have for the past several seasons. We’ve already seen the best days of Winston, and he doesn’t inspire confidence as a QB1 in the year 2025. With that being said, the Giants’ offense was awful last season, and Winston is still an upgrade over the guys they had throwing the ball last year.
In a perfect world, Winston would have served as a backup, but he is currently the QB3 in New York.
Winston gave us the full Jameis Winston experience last season, with the highs featuring a 497-yard, four-touchdown outing in Denver and lows that saw him intercepted five times against just two touchdown passes and 358 yards over his final two games of his tenure with the Cleveland Browns.
When all was said and done, his numbers mirrored his career averages—a completion percentage hovering around 60%, a decent touchdown rate, and an interception rate that was higher than acceptable.
