As a first-round pick for the New York Giants in 2025, Jaxson Dart completely revitalized the franchise, bringing excitement and physicality to a team that hadn’t had a true franchise quarterback since Eli Manning, who retired back in 2020. While his physicality helped energize the team, it also brought risky injury concerns, which Dart spoke about after meeting with the media today.
What Did Jaxson Dart Say About His Risky Playstyle?
When speaking with the media, Dart said, “It’s important for the quarterback to make sure that how he’s filling one play, he’s going to fill that same way the next play, and then at the same time, just having the experience last year sitting out two games, I hadn’t done that in my career, so I just hated that time of not being out there with my teammates… So I obviously understand one of the most important things is to be out there, so you just grow and learn from things, and yeah, we’ll do a good job this year, for sure.”
It’s positive news for Giants fans to hear that he’s aware of his risky tendencies, as he suffered an array of injuries last year, with many occurring while he was running the football.
While he suffered knee, hamstring, and elbow injuries in weeks two, seven, and nine, respectively, he was evaluated for five concussions according to NBC Sports.
While he only suffered one official concussion, it forced him to miss two games against the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions, both of which resulted in losses.
Though his play style was certainly risky, it helped him rush for 487 yards and nine touchdowns, with an average of 5.7 yards per carry. This, along with his 2,272 passing yards and 15 touchdowns to just five interceptions, earned him a QB Impact Grade of 76.3 according to PFSN, ranking 18th among quarterbacks.
Dart also commented on what his coaches have been telling him, saying, “They tell you you need to get down on certain situations. Coach Callahan, just pulling up my tape, and going over situationally, like, is it worth the risk here in this situation? That’s what we talk about a ton, is just situationally, just being smart.”
It’s a great sign to hear Dart’s coaches teaching him which risks to take going forward. Hopefully, it’ll result in a healthier 2026 for him.
In a recent episode of PFN’s Football Debate Club, two of our analysts, Ian Cummings and Jacob Infante, debated whether or not Dart or Titans’ QB Cam Ward were in better positions for their second years. Infante landed squarely on Dart.
“Better sophomore year? I’d say Jaxson Dart,” Infante said on the show, while still giving Ward the nod in a hypothetical redraft. “I’d still take Ward 1.1 just because he was in such a bad situation and still was able to make plays happen. But you’re looking at Dart, he’s in a good opportunity now.”
“Malik Nabers is coming back. They’ve added the likes of Darnell Mooney and Isaiah Likely in the passing game,” Infante said. “That defense should be better. They really retooled that roster in free agency.”
The 2025 25th overall pick finished 4th in AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year voting, bringing positive momentum into 2026 for the Giants.
