When the Giants take the field to face the Chargers in Week 4, a new face will be under center.
Rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart is set to make his first NFL start this Sunday as the Giants search for their first win of the season.
Here are six things to know about No. 6.
1. While Sunday will be his first regular season start, the rookie has been on the field already this season. Dart has played six total snaps across the last two games but has yet to attempt a pass. He has recorded two rush attempts — one for three yards and another for a loss of three yards.
It was the preseason where Dart really put on a dominant display. Across those three games, he completed 32 of 47 passes (68.1 percent) for 372 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed six times for 52 yards, good for an average of 8.7 yards per carry, and an additional touchdown while helping the offense top the 30-point mark in three consecutive preseason games for the first time in franchise history.
2. The Giants made a draft night trade to get Dart, sending the 34th and 99th overall picks in this year’s draft and a 2026 third-round choice to the Texans in exchange for the 25th overall selection.
“Obviously we traded back (into the first round) for Jaxson,” general manager Joe Schoen told the media on the first night of the draft. “Fired up to get him. We went through an extensive quarterback process. It started as far back as last May in terms of evaluating the quarterbacks, and Dabs and I have been through this quite a few times, and at the end of the day we’re fired up to have Jaxson Dart as part of the organization and look forward to working with him.”
“I think he’s got a lot of qualities you look for in a good quarterback,” Daboll added. “He’s tough, makes good decisions with the football, pushes the ball down the field, has athletic ability, played in a really tough conference, started there at USC as a young guy. But did a really good job throughout this process of our meetings, board work, workouts and the tape that we liked. Look forward to working with him. Glad he’s here, and we’ll get started as soon as we can.”
3. Prior to the NFL, Dart set Ole Miss records in wins (28) and winning percentage by a starting quarterback (.737), total offense (12,115), passing yards (10,617), passing efficiency (162.8), 300-yard passing games (15), rushing yards by a quarterback (1,498), and total offense per play (8.14). Dart led the FBS with 1,517 passing yards and 17 touchdowns on deep passes (20+ air yards) in 2024.
Dart started three seasons at Ole Miss and finished with 72 touchdowns, 22 interceptions, and no fewer than 2,974 passing yards in any season. Prior to transferring to Ole Miss, he began his collegiate career at USC, where he played six games during his freshman season and threw for 1,353 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions.
“He really is a quick learner, really can see everything and can chunk information,” Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said about his former quarterback on the ‘Giants Huddle’ podcast. “And if he is struggling with something, he’s going to find a way. He’s going to stay after. He’s going to do whatever it takes.”