Former Giants QB Sounds Off on Jaxson Dart Narrative

Only time will tell if the New York Giants selected their true franchise quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft with Jaxson Dart.

Heading into the 2025 NFL season, it seems the Giants might keep the young rookie on ice, as two veterans ahead of him on the depth chart have more than enough experience to warrant playing over him right away.

Russell Wilson joined the Giants after spending a season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Then there’s Jameis Winston, who just wrapped up a 12-game stretch with the Cleveland Browns last year.

The presence of the two quarterbacks can be positive for Dart, if the Giants view Wilson and Winston as two valuable veteran leaders for their 22-year-old passer. However, a quarterback competition won’t allow for Dart to get immediate reps as a rookie. In fact, he could be in line for a redshirt year, despite being the 25th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Former Giants quarterback Phil Simms believes that would be a mistake.

Sit out the whole season? “That is the most overused stupid thing that I see people say on TV,” Simms said on the ‘Up & Adams Show’ this week.

“The ideal situation to me .. they get off to a decent start, we see the whole team is better than it was last year. The defensive line. I think the last two drafts have been very good. All that. We’re respectable. But then there comes a point six, seven, eight weeks into the season unless you see that there’s an opportunity to really be great we’ve got to find a spot to put Jaxson Dart in there, give him some experience, let him have some success and some failures because that’s how you grow in the NFL as a quarterback.”

There’s only so much a young quarterback can do with his eyes and ears from an NFL sideline. Mental reps and snaps are two totally different worlds. Take it from a two-time champion and multi-time pro bowler.

Since the Giants aren’t viewed as a potential Super Bowl contender in 2025, they aren’t likely to be one veteran quarterback away from breaking into that contention. As a team, they’ll see growing pains. Why not allow for Dart to experience some of his own as the season plays out?

The last time the Giants drafted high on a quarterback was when they took Daniel Jones out of Duke. There was no redshirt for Jones at the time, who went under center for 13 games in 2019. It was a tough stretch, as the Giants went 3-9. However, they felt good about Jones, who threw for over 3,000 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.

Long-term, it didn’t work out, which places the Giants in a situation to hope that Dart is the answer. Opinions about what the Giants should do with the rookie will be all over the place. In Simms’ eyes, it’s a no-brainer. Let the kid play next season.