The New York Giants have been very aggressive in the 2025 offseason. Head coach Brian Daboll and GM Joe Schoen needed to make a splash after finishing 3-14 last season.
The Giants selected Abdul Carter with the third overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, then traded back into the first round to take quarterback Jaxson Dart. One former NFL offensive lineman recently discussed when Dart should see the field, and how that decision could save Daboll’s job.
Former OL Thinks Playing Jaxson Dart Early Gives Brian Daboll Best Chance To Save His Job
Daboll and Schoen were hired in 2022 and made the playoffs with Daniel Jones as the team’s signal caller. Daboll helped Jones have the best season of his career, throwing for 3,205 yards, 15 touchdowns, and five interceptions while adding 708 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
Things have been downhill since, with the team winning nine games total over the next two seasons. Jones was released during the 2024 season, and the Giants had to start Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito down the stretch.
Reports coming out of the season said Daboll and Schoen could be fired if New York doesn’t make the playoffs in 2025. They apparently took those reports to heart. The Giants signed Jameis Winston and Russell Wilson in free agency, then drafted Dart.
Daboll inherited Jones as his starter and got the most out of him. Dart was heavily favored by New York’s coach and has a chance to alter the franchise’s future once he gets on the field.
Dart improved each of his three years at Ole Miss, throwing for 4,279 yards, 29 touchdowns, and six interceptions in 2024. He was considered QB3 heading into the draft, but was the second one taken when the Giants traded up to No. 25.
Daboll has his guy, and three-time Super Bowl champion Mark Schlereth recently talked about when Dart should see the field on “The Stinkin’ Truth Podcast.”
The Giants shouldn’t waste time with Russel Wilson or Jameis Winston. Start the rookie from day one! @WFANSportsRadio
Listen to The Stinkin’ Truth Podcast on the Audacy App or wherever you get your podcasts https://t.co/PK81Cz4SOV pic.twitter.com/YMcA4mGAEG— Mark Schlereth (@markschlereth)
Schlereth was asked, “What gives you, in that Giants’ situation, more job security? Playing the kid right away, or leaving him, putting off as long as possible before you play that ace up your sleeve?”
He responded, “To me, you’re not winning with Jameis Winston or Russell Wilson on a consistent basis. I just feel like, from day one, if Jaxson Dart’s your starter, cause there’s not a lot of people that are Giants fans that have a lot of belief that you’re gonna be able to usurp anyone within your division with those guys at quarterback. Whether it’s Tommy Cutlets, Russell Wilson, or whether it’s Jameis Winston.
“But what if the young kid comes in, plays better than expected? They lean on that defense. You start winning some games. To me, that has a better chance of saving your job than saying, ‘Let’s play Russell Wilson until the bye week, then move on to Jaxson Dart.'”
Dart could win the starting job in training camp, but he has the luxury of two experienced veterans in the building. Wilson is the Giants’ projected starter after signing a one-year, $10.5 million contract this offseason, and Winston signed a two-year, $8 million deal. Neither has much guaranteed money if the Giants decide to move one of the veterans, and that could make the decision to start Dart early that much easier.
Promising play from Dart will likely save Daboll and Schoen’s jobs, but the more wins the team can stack in 2025, the better.