The offseason program is over. It’s officially summer break for the Giants.
That doesn’t mean this team is off your mind, though. We figured it would be a good time to open the mailbag and answer your questions as the team takes a few weeks off before getting back together for training camp.
Off we go …
When do you think we’ll see Jaxson Dart as the starting quarterback? - @ItsGiantsSZN
There’s nothing Dart can do to win the starting job out of training camp. There is no competition. Russell Wilson is the guy. I just find it so hard to see the Giants sticking with him if the beginning of the season goes as expected.
That schedule is absolutely brutal: Commanders, Cowboys, Chiefs, Chargers, Saints, Eagles, Broncos, Eagles, 49ers, Bears, Packers, Lions, Patriots … then a bye. There’s a very real chance the Giants start the year 2-7 or worse.
The seat underneath Brian Daboll will be scorching lava hot if that’s the case. He’ll go into self preservation mode. Wilson or Jameis Winston don’t save a job. The rookie quarterback Daboll hand picked playing well? That does.
The earliest I could see him starting is at home against the Chargers (Week 4). Los Angeles might not be as good as some believe. That would take a horrific first three games for New York, though. Dart would play the Chargers, then the Saints, who also might not be that great. Week 10 against the Bears is the other most logical situation.
He’d get Chicago, Green Bay, Detroit, then New England to begin his career. That’s not that bad of a gauntlet heading into the bye.
Were you in the building for Daniel Jones' first minicamp? Do you see anything that makes you think Jaxson Dart will be better? - @BluntNewman
I was not, but I have seen plenty of rookie quarterbacks. Let me take a trip down memory lane of drafted guys: Bryce Petty (fourth round), Christian Hackenberg (second round), Sam Darnold (first round), James Morgan (fourth round) and Zach Wilson (first round). Suffice to say I have a very good grasp of what bad quarterbacks look like.
Dart does not have blow-you-away arm talent. It’s a good arm, not great. So there are things players like Wilson (who did have a very strong arm) or Darnold (a ridiculous athlete) did that Dart does not. The biggest difference between Dart and all of those other players, though, is his confidence. There’s this unwavering presence about him when he takes the field that is infectious. Stressing the word confidence. Not to be confused with arrogance. Wilson had the latter and it rubbed many the wrong way. Dart is the player people want to be around.
There have been impressive throws from Dart, but most of those other players (absent Petty and Hackenberg) had moments, too. It’s that presence when he’s on the field that is so unique. It’s a lame way to word it, but you can tell he’s a cool guy people want to be seen with.