The New York Giants truly believe that they have their franchise quarterback in Jaxson Dart.
Dart’s rookie season exciting, showing off poise, competitiveness, athleticism, and arm talent. But beyond that, his presence has repeatedly been cited as a major factor in John Harbaugh’s decision to come to the Giants after being fired by the Baltimore Ravens. Dart is already being treated like a 6-year veteran quarterback by the national media, not needing dedicated support, but rather his presence expected
to elevate the players around him.
The key to that is, of course, Dart’s presence.
There was a massive — and at times out-sized — outcry from fans and the media over Dart’s (occasionally) devil may care attitude toward potential injury. Making sure Dart understands that there’s a time and place for self-sacrifice has been a priority for the new coaching staff.
“That was, like, one of our first meetings with (passing game coordinator/quarterbacks) Coach (Brian) Callahan,” Dart said. “Just pulling up my tape and just going over situationally, like, is it worth the risk here in this situation. And that’s what we talk about a ton is situationally just being smart.”
Dart added that it’s been an on-going point of emphasis in meetings throughout the off-season, even up to Thursday’s OTA.
“Coach G-Ro (senior offensive assistant Greg Roman) talked about it today,” he said. “It’s important for the quarterback to make sure how he’s feeling one play that he’s going to feel that same way the next play. And at the same time, just having the experience last year of 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 obviously I understand the most important thing is to be out there. So, you just grow and learn from things. And I think I’m going to do a good job at it this year for sure.”
Dart’s scrambling and running is a double-edged sword. While it’s inherently dangerous for the most important player on the team, Dart’s athleticism also forces the other team to play true 11-on-11 defense, as well as limit the ways in which they’re able to attack the Giants’ offense. They can’t afford to ignore the quarterback, nor can they be too aggressive that they’re unable to account if Dart gets loose.
The flip side is that the Giants also have to be careful to temper Dart’s own aggressiveness without dulling his competitive edge.
That, he assured the media, isn’t a risk. He’ll still be a hyper-competitive player, just a more mature one.
“I mean my competitiveness isn’t going to change at all,” he said. “I think, just like I said, it just goes into situationally. Just what times it’s worth it and what times it’s not. And just making those mature decisions.”
On the Giants’ new offense
The Giants’ offense is still a mystery, and how the disparate philosophies of Matt Nagy, Greg Roman, and Brian Callahan combine is one of the more fascinating storylines of the off-season. We won’t get to see the full picture of the offense until the regular season rolls around.
Head coach John Harbaugh said at the Giants’ Town Hall that the team wants to be able to “live in both worlds”, or be able to run or pass the ball at will on early downs. They want to be unpredictable and dictate to defenses on early downs.
Dart said on Thursday that it’s “cool” to see the amalgamation of styles take shape.
“It’s new to me. It’s new to everybody here,” he said. “It’s been really cool to have a lot of amazing minds kind of collab and make something that’s been really fun to operate. So, I think everybody out here is just trying to go along with just competing but just executing.”
He added that he’s working to grow as a pocket passer, both reading the defense and working his progressions.
“There’s steps in my game that I want to grow within the pocket,” Dart said. “So, I just think that each and every rep you’re just trying to identify pre-snap, post-snap reads and then just be really solid with progressions. And those are just steps I’m trying to take at this time for sure.”
The fact that OC Matt Nagy, like Mike Kafka, coached under Andy Reid suggested that there might be a core of familiarity for Dart. However, the new system not only brings new terminology, but also new concepts that are completely novel to the young quarterback. It is, according to Dart, a more sophisticated offense than the one run by Brian Daboll and Kafka a year ago.
“It’s a lot of things that I haven’t done before,” he said. “So, it’s been fun to kind of get new experiences, try new things, have communication with the coaches on what I like, what they like and get a ton of reps at it. So, I think that’s been fun for me.
At the same time, there’s a little bit more that’s involved within it. So, it’s been fun to learn, to have the command, the control at the line of scrimmage. And you have the keys to get what you want and put your offense in the best situation.”
One of the concerns regarding Dart as a prospect coming out of Lane Kiffin’s system at Ole Miss was the lack of snaps under center. He essentially had to learn how to take a snap from under center as a pro, and while he didn’t play a tremendous amount of snaps under center, he handled the change well as a rookie. The new system, according to Dart, will feature even more snaps under center, as well as greater control of the offense at the line of scrimmage.
“Definitely a lot more of the under-center action game, for sure,” he said. “I just think that the overall command. There’s a lot of kills, alerts that go into really every play.
We’re able to play fast but at the same time there’s a lot that’s on the quarterback’s shoulders. So, I just think it’s really just another growth, another stepping point into my experiences as an NFL quarterback. And I think it’s just been fun to learn these new things and expand my knowledge of the game.”
Dart added that the new offense also gives him more tools to attack the defense in a variety of ways.
“It’s very versatile,” he said. “There’s a lot of just things that we can do within the system from a personnel standpoint. And the guys have been able to pick it up at a good level, and we’ve been able to play fast.”
Overall, Dart is excited to continue to grow as an NFL quarterback, as well as for the new offense and coaching staff to push him to hone his craft.
“I just think from a footwork standpoint, being able to be cleaner throughout my reads,” Dart said. “I think there’s times when you look back on tape and experiences and maybe you weren’t as quick as you wanted to be through a progression. You look back and you say ‘why was that?’
And it starts with your eyes, making sure they’re in the right spots. And that’s been a huge emphasis with Coach Callahan, watching different guys’ tapes.
And the amount of elite NFL quarterbacks he’s coached and been around and just his knowledge being able to shed on to me about that stuff has been really cool. I think it’s just an emphasis for us on the communication level, just growing in that department as a quarterback.”
