The New York Giants have had a quarterback crisis ever since Eli Manning retired. And maybe even for a few years before that. But they cleaned the slate this offseason, opening up the 2025 league year with just Tommy DeVito in the QB room. He would soon be joined by veteran Russell Wilson.
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Wilson signed a one-year, $10.5 million contract on March 26. The Giants had their man. Or did they? Five days later, they signed Jameis Winston to a two-year, $8 million deal. Probably just a backup, right? But his deal is twice as long as Wilson’s. Then, a few weeks later, the Giants traded three Day 2 picks to get back into the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft to select Jaxson Dart with the 25th overall pick.
But Wilson’s still the starter, right? Well, yes. Head coach Brian Daboll has explicitly said that Wilson was sitting atop the totem pole heading into spring and summer OTAs and training camp. However, many believe that a rebuilding outfit like the Giants should go young with Dart rather than taking the safe approach with Wilson. ESPN’s Mike Tannenbaum includes himself in that category.
“If it was up to me, Jaxson Dart would’ve started three weeks ago. From day one, rep one, start one. … Wouldn’t you rather win five games with Jaxson Dart being ascending, than win six with a moribund Russell Wilson who’s at the end? Wouldn’t you want to have hope?”
Tannenbaum was the senior vice president and general manager of the New York Jets from 2006-2012. That was arguably their most successful run since their Super Bowl win in 1968. They went to back-to-back AFC Championships in 2009 and 2010. They even beat Tom Brady in the playoffs during that run.
And who was New York’s quarterback during those years? Mark Sanchez, who was drafted in 2009 and pushed into the starting role from the very start of his career with the Jets.
“When we had Mark Sanchez with the Jets, from day one, we put him in. We ran the ball, we played good defense, we had some good breaks, we got to the AFC Championship Game. If I’m the Giants, this is all about Jaxson Dart, so why not just throw him in and let him go?”
ESPN host Molly Qerim, a well-known Giants fan, was a little more hesitant to throw Dart into the fire. We’ve seen a lot of guys given starts well before they were ready, which tanks their NFL careers, and thereby the whole plan their team had built around drafting them in the first place.
For our money, it is worth having your rookie sit behind a professional like Russell Wilson—but just for a few weeks. You want him to learn the speed of the NFL game before he has to make plays, but you also want to see what you actually have in Jaxson Dart before the 2025 season is over. Wilson will likely be the starter in Week 1, but we’d be shocked if Dart hasn’t taken on that role by Week 18.
