Why Jaxson Dart may surprise in first start for Giants against tough Chargers defense stems back to his time with Ole Miss Rebels
Jaxson Dart might not be “ready”, but could find success for Giants anyway
It’s time. The Jaxson Dart era has officially begun for the New York Giants. Following what was another absolutely abysmal showing from quarterback Russell Wilson last week against the Chiefs, the Giants finally decided that they will be starting the first round rookie out of Ole Miss this Sunday vs. the Chargers.
This should be exciting for Giants fans who booed Russell Wilson throughout the game. Exciting for Ole Miss Rebels fans who get to see their second quarterback to potentially star for the Giants earlier than expected (the other being Eli Manning, of course). And exciting for any Dart fans who believed he was good enough to start (and early) in the NFL despite all of the doubts in the pre-draft process.
Is Dart really ready? Can he find success against the Chargers’ tough defense? And should the Giants have waited? Let’s dive in.
Jaxson Dart might struggle with Chargers but Giants must stick with the process
It was only a matter of time before Jaxson Dart took over as the starting quarterback for the New York Giants. Sure, Russell Wilson looked decent against the Cowboys, but he had largely looked like a shell of his former self for more than three years prior to this season.
With the Giants beginning the season 0-3, head coach Brian Daboll and possibly general manager Joe Schoen’s jobs likely on the line, and fans booing every time Jaxson Dart left the field (from his limited snap packages) it was clearly time. There’s no reason to keep starting a completely washed up veteran when you just selected a quarterback in the first round of the NFL Draft.
However, the decision to start Dart against one of the best defenses in the NFL this week was immediately met with skepticism from some fans and media members who cover the team (as you can see from John Frascella’s post below).
There’s some validity to the concerns in starting Jaxson Dart against a Chargers defense that ranks 4th in points allowed, 2nd passing yards per attempt allowed, and 3rd in passer rating against. It would be tough for any NFL quarterback to start and find success against the Chargers this week, let alone a rookie.
Some fans and analysts thought that it would make more sense for Dart to get his first shot against the Saints–one of the worst teams in the league just over a week from now. Regardless, the schedule was eventually and quite quickly going to get extremely difficult as the Giants face the Eagles twice in a three week span of October, the Broncos, and a handful of other top notch defensive secondary units.
That’s part of the job when it comes to being quarterback in the NFL. You’re going to face tough defenses. Those defenses make even the best quarterbacks look bad sometimes. That isn’t reason enough to wait on getting Jaxson Dart some much-needed reps as a starter.
Why Jaxson Dart might surprise against Chargers and beyond as a rookie for the Giants
The skeptics on the timing of Dart’s first start are forgetting one crucial detail as well. Dart was a phenomenal first round prospect coming out of Ole Miss. Thus, he might just surprise everyone, finding success immediately given his immense talent.
Yes, there were lazy questions repeated over and over about the Lane Kiffin scheme for the Ole Miss Rebels. No, Dart does not have the arm talent of a Josh Allen kind of prospect. However, as Dart demonstrated throughout much of his college career, he can still make every single type of throw needed in the NFL (perfect example in post below).
Perhaps more importantly, Dart proved that over a large sample of play, he was the most efficient quarterback in Ole Miss Rebels history and finished with one of the easiest “hit” projection profiles of any quarterback in recent years.
Detractors love to point of the worst handful of plays when it comes to analyzing quarterbacks they don’t like or understand (for example Jaxson Dart’s finish to the Florida game in 2024), but the truth of the matter is that Dart dominated via the meaningful metrics in college throughout his full body of work.
He posted back to back seasons with a top ten pass efficiency profile in the country. Dart headed into the postseason last year ranked first in yards per play, first in adjusted yards per pass attempt, first in total yards per game, second in passer rating, third in total adjusted net yards per attempt, third in EPA per play, and top five or ten in virtually every single measure of quarterback success.
Then when he could have packed it in to prep for the NFL Draft, Dart instead chose to take one last ride with his Ole Miss Rebels brothers. How did that go? He shredded a top 20 defense in college football for over 400 yards and 4 touchdowns in the Gator Bowl to put a nice exclamation point on one of the best QB prospect profiles of the last decade.
Jaxson Dart may not be officially “ready” to dominate the NFL, but everything about his profile suggests he will eventually find success in the pros. He has the processing and decision-making. He has the elite data-driven profile of success. Dart also has the requisite mobility to create plays outside of structure that the NFL loves to see (nearly 500 yards rushing in his final season). He even has elite weapons to target with guys like Malik Nabers taking the field every week for the Giants.
Could he struggle against the Chargers and other good defenses as a rookie? Yes, that’s true of every NFL quarterback, but Dart has all the tools to succeed. Now we get to see just how soon he finds his footing.
We’ll be back with more Ole Miss Rebels (plus Jaxson Dart & New York Giants) coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
