Giants 2025 Position Breakdown: When will the torch be passed to Jaxson Dart?

Russell Wilson will likely be QB1 to start the season

6/4/2025, 2:00 PM

Heading into the 2025 season, the Giants are coming off another incredibly disappointing campaign, which saw them go 3-14 and take another step in the wrong direction, putting GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll firmly on the hot seat.

But as the team heads into 2025, there's optimism that they will be an improved squad.

In this series, we’ll break down the depth chart for every position group. This time, we’ll go in-depth at the all-important quarterback spot…


Projected depth chart

Starter: Russell Wilson
Backups: Jameis Winston, Jaxson Dart, Tommy DeVito
Key additions/losses: Signed Wilson and Winston in free agency, drafted Dart, lost Drew Lock in free agency
Top Performer in 2023: Wilson, who started just 11 games for Pittsburgh but threw for 2,482 yards with 16 touchdowns and only five interceptions
2025 ranking via PFF: 27th out of 32 starters

What Giants quarterbacks have going for them

The Giants' QB room looks much, much different than it did heading into last season, and on paper, it's much improved. Gone are the days wondering about Daniel Jones' long-term outlook with the team -- he was released last season and spent the rest of the year with Minnesota before signing with Indianapolis this offseason.

Now, the Giants have a pair of proven NFL starters in Wilson and Winston at the top of their depth chart, and they have a first-round pick waiting in the wings as the next potential face of the franchise.

Wilson may not be the top-tier quarterback that he was when he won a Super Bowl with Seattle (in MetLife Stadium), but his resume -- 10 Pro Bowls, more than 46,000 passing yards, and a Super Bowl ring -- speaks for itself. He also had a nice bounce back season with the Steelers in 2024 after a tenuous stint in Denver. While his canned responses at press conferences can sometimes cause detractors, Wilson is 44 games over .500 as an NFL starter, and it's hard to argue with his results.

Winston is a bit of a wild card. The former No. 1 overall pick has three 4,000-yard seasons to his name, including 5,109 yards in 2019, but his gunslinger mentality often makes the risk greater than the reward. Still, at the very least, Winston provides another proven signal-caller for the Giants, and someone the Giants would feel comfortable with as their quarterback in a big moment.

And then there's Dart. Make no mistake, all eyes will be on the Ole Miss product as he begins his rookie campaign. He'll likely begin the season third on the depth chart, but if he has a strong training camp and preseason, he'll push for playing time sooner rather than later.

The big question is when the Giants hand the reins to Dart in 2025, or if they even do it at all. Some organizations prefer to have their rookie first-round quarterbacks sit for at least a few weeks of the regular season, if not the entire season. Some like to just throw them into the deep end right away and see how well they can swim. With Wilson and Winston on the roster, it's likely that Dart has to wait his turn to get his chance to shine, but eventually that moment will come.

DeVito, meanwhile, has provided some fun moments during his Giants' tenure, but it's had to imagine a world where he plays any part in the Giants' 2025 QB picture.

Key concern for 2025: What if Dart doesn't look the part?

NFL coaches often hate to speak or think in hypotheticals, but here's one anyway: If the Giants come out of the gates slow and things aren't going well for the offense through the first six weeks of what is a brutal schedule, could the Giants look to make a QB change following a Thursday night game and a long week heading into a road matchup in Denver? Facing the Broncos defense would certainly be baptism by fire for Dart if the Giants turned to him over Winston, but wouldn't fans like to see how Dart handles that kind of environment?

If the Giants do eventually play Dart during the 2025 season, his development is really the only thing that matters for Big Blue. The Giants invested in Dart by trading two future picks to move up from No. 34 to No. 25 to land him, and they're putting a lot of eggs into his basket. If Dart struggles, really struggles, to grasp the speed of playing in the NFL, then Giants fans can certainly expect a regime change next offseason.

The hope for Big Blue, obviously, is that Dart at least shows flashes of greatness and can eventually transition into the full-time starter, but the Giants simply can't afford to have gotten this one wrong.

Player who must step up in 2025: Wilson

When the Giants signed Wilson to a one-year deal this offseason worth $10.5 million guaranteed and up to $21 million with incentives, they did so with the idea that Wilson could be more than just a stopgap quarterback. They believe they can win with him.

With Malik Nabers already proving to be one of the most talented young receivers in football and Tyrone Tracy Jr., Devin Singletary, and Cam Skattebo giving the Giants depth at the running back spot, the Giants offense could be a lot of fun in 2025, but Wilson has to be the ringleader.

The Giants don't need the 36-year-old Wilson to be Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen, but they need him to minimize turnover and take command of the huddle, and perhaps if the Giants do in fact let Russ cook, the results could be Michelin star quality.

On the other hand, if Wilson struggles, that could either prematurely accelerate the clock for Dart, of lead to Winston having to mop up a mess.

Biggest camp battle: Russell Wilson vs. Jaxson Dart

There's almost no way that Dart leapfrogs both Wilson and Winston to win the starting job for Week 1, but that won't stop fans and media members alike from tracking how the rookie and the vet are performing during camp and in preseason action.

Again, it's almost an absolute lock that Wilson will be the starter when the Giants take the field in Washington for Week 1.

But crazier things have happened.

Overall 2025 outlook

It's been a while since the Giants entered a season with a quarterback group this strong. The Giants seemingly felt good about Jones heading into 2023, fresh off of signing him to a big contract after a playoff win in Minnesota, but that big-picture clarity quickly shifted out of focus as Jones struggled.

Now, the Giants have a clear vision at quarterback: Let Wilson lead the way while having Winston as a proven backup, all while developing Dart to be the franchise-changing quarterback they hope he can be.

Optimism about the Giants' quarterback room should be high heading into a critical 2025 season.