As we complete our position-by-position “better or worse?” examination of the New York Giants’ offense we have reached the final and most important position — quarterback.
We are going to dispense with the standard “better or worse?” argument. The Giants are clearly better, positioned both with a better short-term signal-caller in Russell Wilson and a potential long-term answer in Jaxson Dart.
So, the question is not “are they better?”
The short-term question is “have they improved enough for it to matter in 2025?” The long-term question is “have they bet on the right horse to carry the franchise into the future?”
Short term
Russell Wilson isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. When he became head coach of the Denver Broncos Sean Payton clearly wanted to move on from Wilson. While, statistically, he played well enough for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024, it seems that not everyone in Pittsburgh was on the Wilson train.
While the comparison is not perfect, Wilson’s career is somewhat reminiscent of that of former Giants great Eli Manning. While Manning stayed with the Giants for the entirety of his 16-year career and Wilson has become an NFL nomad, both players’ careers were far more successful in the first half than in the second half.
Even in the back half of Wilson’s career, though, he has been better than Daniel Jones. Check out the table below from rbsdm.com charting quarterback efficiency from Jones’ rookie season in 2019 through 2024. It is sorted by Expected Points Added (EPA) per play, and clearly shows Wilson being more effective than Jones.
QB Efficiency, 2019-2024
Player
Team
Plays
EPA+CPOE composite
Adj. EPA/play
EPA/play
Success rate
Cmp%
Expected cmp%
CPOE
Air yards
Player
Team
Plays
EPA+CPOE composite
Adj. EPA/play
EPA/play
Success rate
Cmp%
Expected cmp%
CPOE
Air yards
B.Purdy
1299
0.161
0.267
0.254
53.30%
69.9
66.9
3
8.1
P.Mahomes
4252
0.153
0.248
0.238
52.40%
70.1
67.3
2.8
7.4
J.Allen
4297
0.138
0.214
0.206
51.80%
67.7
65.2
2.5
8.8
J.Daniels
699
0.141
0.206
0.202
49.40%
71.8
68.3
3.5
7.4
L.Jackson
3543
0.135
0.207
0.196
50.40%
67.9
65.6
2.4
8.8
R.Tannehill
2277
0.13
0.189
0.17
51.60%
68.6
65.8
2.8
8.1
D.Prescott
3193
0.122
0.186
0.169
51.30%
68.7
67.2
1.5
8.2
J.Garoppolo
1865
0.118
0.184
0.167
50.30%
69.4
68.4
1
7
A.Rodgers
3202
0.123
0.179
0.166
48.60%
68.6
66.4
2.2
7.9
T.Brady
2965
0.115
0.175
0.16
49.00%
67.8
66.8
0.9
8
J.Love
1254
0.11
0.17
0.157
47.80%
65.7
65.2
0.5
8.7
J.Burrow
3064
0.133
0.176
0.157
50.50%
70.9
66.6
4.3
7.5
J.Hurts
2825
0.117
0.16
0.146
48.40%
68.9
66.4
2.5
8.4
T.Tagovailoa
2364
0.118
0.164
0.145
50.00%
70.1
67.6
2.5
7.7
J.Herbert
3484
0.101
0.148
0.137
48.40%
68.5
68
0.5
7.4
M.Stafford
3167
0.099
0.155
0.133
49.50%
67.2
67.8
-0.6
8.3
K.Cousins
3402
0.114
0.151
0.128
49.10%
70.5
67.9
2.6
7.7
D.Carr
3425
0.109
0.142
0.118
47.60%
70.7
68.5
2.3
8.1
T.Bridgewater
1426
0.11
0.13
0.117
48.70%
71
67.8
3.2
7.6
J.Goff
3842
0.1
0.138
0.115
49.00%
70.1
69.4
0.8
7
M.Mariota
786
0.089
0.124
0.113
48.90%
65.2
65.4
-0.2
9.4
B.Mayfield
3539
0.082
0.111
0.098
46.80%
66
66.5
-0.5
8.1
K.Murray
3582
0.09
0.111
0.094
47.70%
70
69.1
0.9
7.5
B.Nix
702
0.081
0.093
0.09
45.30%
68.9
68.3
0.6
7.4
D.Watson
2092
0.094
0.103
0.088
47.40%
68.8
66.6
2.2
8.5
R.Wilson
3494
0.105
0.1
0.081
46.50%
69.1
64.8
4.3
8.6
G.Smith
2145
0.104
0.092
0.078
49.00%
71.7
66.9
4.8
7.3
N.Mullens
602
0.091
0.11
0.075
47.50%
68.3
67.2
1.1
7.4
J.Winston
1513
0.079
0.104
0.067
47.50%
62.8
63.4
-0.6
10.1
C.Stroud
1250
0.064
0.065
0.055
44.70%
66.5
67.3
-0.8
8.6
J.Brissett
1550
0.063
0.065
0.053
46.70%
65.2
66.2
-1
7.9
T.Lawrence
2453
0.063
0.065
0.052
48.20%
65.5
66.4
-0.9
8
M.Rudolph
813
0.065
0.054
0.043
44.90%
66.7
66.5
0.3
7.8
C.Wentz
2346
0.048
0.041
0.026
45.80%
63.8
65.8
-2.1
8.2
T.Taylor
525
0.065
0.037
0.024
44.40%
67.2
65.9
1.3
8.1
M.Trubisky
1372
0.051
0.027
0.015
47.40%
66.1
66.7
-0.6
8.2
G.Minshew II
2101
0.051
0.035
0.013
44.60%
67
68.1
-1.1
7.4
K.Pickett
949
0.046
0.011
0.007
44.60%
65.6
66.1
-0.5
7.5
M.Jones
1861
0.054
0.028
0.003
45.40%
67.9
68
0
7.8
A.Dalton
1974
0.046
0.031
0.001
46.10%
65.9
67.7
-1.8
7.5
T.Heinicke
1120
0.048
0.021
0.001
45.80%
65.3
66
-0.7
8.2
D.Jones
2961
0.051
0.021
-0.001
45.80%
67.2
67.5
-0.3
7.3
S.Darnold
2405
0.052
0.017
-0.003
45.80%
66.4
66.1
0.2
8.2
J.Fields
1746
0.045
0.01
-0.006
43.60%
64.8
65.4
-0.6
8.6
D.Maye
459
0.067
0.018
-0.007
47.50%
69.9
67
2.8
7.6
D.Lock
1155
0.027
0.023
-0.008
42.90%
61.6
66.2
-4.6
8.2
J.Flacco
1252
0.045
0.018
-0.014
44.10%
64.6
65.7
-1.1
8.5
A.Richardson
494
-0.014
-0.012
-0.024
41.30%
53.3
63.4
-10.1
11.3
C.Williams
750
0.039
-0.017
-0.026
41.60%
67.2
67.3
-0.1
7.9
A.O’Connell
670
0.019
-0.018
-0.026
43.60%
66.2
70
-3.8
7.8
C.Rush
630
0.003
-0.018
-0.039
42.90%
62
68.6
-6.6
7.5
T.Huntley
668
0.039
-0.033
-0.044
41.90%
67.8
67.1
0.6
7.7
M.White
356
0.015
-0.003
-0.046
45.80%
62.8
68.1
-5.3
7
K.Allen
802
0.035
-0.018
-0.053
46.30%
66.4
67.2
-0.8
7.9
C.Keenum
460
0.023
-0.029
-0.06
46.30%
65.8
68.2
-2.4
6.7
D.Ridder
734
0.024
-0.045
-0.073
44.80%
66.4
68
-1.6
8.1
J.Dobbs
703
0.024
-0.052
-0.078
42.80%
65.9
67.2
-1.3
7.7
D.Mills
1121
0.01
-0.071
-0.092
40.90%
64.8
68.1
-3.3
7.5
C.McCoy
404
0.028
-0.081
-0.092
41.10%
69.4
69.2
0.2
6.6
S.Howell
806
0.022
-0.062
-0.094
42.30%
66.2
67.5
-1.3
7.2
N.Foles
581
0.032
-0.073
-0.096
40.40%
67.6
66.8
0.8
7.9
B.Young
1135
0.025
-0.075
-0.1
40.10%
65.7
66.3
-0.5
8.1
B.Allen
360
-0.018
-0.089
-0.104
41.40%
59.5
67.5
-8
7.1
W.Levis
716
0.026
-0.069
-0.112
40.10%
62.9
63.3
-0.4
9.8
T.Siemian
440
-0.012
-0.109
-0.15
39.50%
60.7
67.3
-6.6
6.6
Z.Wilson
1233
-0.011
-0.143
-0.161
38.80%
60.9
67.1
-6.3
7.9
B.Zappe
407
0.011
-0.18
-0.216
37.10%
65
67.5
-2.5
7.7
P.Walker
406
-0.025
-0.205
-0.233
36.70%
55.9
65.1
-9.2
8.5
Those numbers, while perhaps not spectacular, make Wilson the best starting quarterback the Giants have had since Manning.
The same chart for 2024 shows Wilson performing better than Jones, though perhaps not by a massive margin, and performing far better than Drew Lock.
QB Efficiency 2024
Player
Team
Plays
EPA+CPOE composite
Adj. EPA/play
EPA/play
Success rate
Cmp%
Expected cmp%
CPOE
Air yards
Player
Team
Plays
EPA+CPOE composite
Adj. EPA/play
EPA/play
Success rate
Cmp%
Expected cmp%
CPOE
Air yards
J.Allen
638
0.171
0.332
0.321
52.20%
66.9
66
0.8
8.4
L.Jackson
653
0.184
0.31
0.296
52.40%
69.6
65.1
4.6
8.8
J.Goff
603
0.189
0.303
0.292
54.10%
76.5
70.8
5.7
6.6
J.Burrow
776
0.169
0.232
0.212
53.20%
73.2
66.5
6.8
7.2
B.Mayfield
697
0.147
0.222
0.209
52.40%
72.4
68.8
3.6
6.9
J.Daniels
699
0.141
0.206
0.202
49.40%
71.8
68.3
3.5
7.4
T.Tagovailoa
451
0.145
0.214
0.2
53.20%
75
71.2
3.8
5.8
B.Purdy
570
0.133
0.208
0.198
51.80%
68.2
66.1
2.1
8.7
J.Love
485
0.127
0.211
0.192
49.10%
65.2
64.6
0.6
9
P.Mahomes
695
0.124
0.178
0.165
50.90%
70.9
68.3
2.6
6.4
J.Herbert
627
0.116
0.166
0.164
47.40%
68.5
66.5
1.9
8.6
J.Hurts
552
0.149
0.171
0.161
50.20%
74.3
66.7
7.5
7.9
K.Murray
682
0.116
0.161
0.15
51.30%
71.4
69.3
2.1
7
D.Carr
318
0.122
0.162
0.149
43.70%
72.1
68.9
3.3
8.2
S.Darnold
687
0.121
0.151
0.127
50.90%
70.2
66.4
3.9
8.7
M.Stafford
594
0.087
0.126
0.118
50.50%
68
68.7
-0.7
7.5
J.Fields
251
0.1
0.116
0.107
47.00%
69.7
67.3
2.4
7.9
B.Nix
702
0.081
0.093
0.09
45.30%
68.9
68.3
0.6
7.4
G.Smith
713
0.11
0.094
0.075
48.70%
73.5
67.8
5.6
7.1
K.Cousins
524
0.084
0.094
0.065
49.20%
69.3
68.4
1
7.7
A.Rodgers
679
0.059
0.079
0.057
44.30%
64.8
67.4
-2.6
6.8
T.Lawrence
334
0.06
0.058
0.054
45.50%
63.2
64.2
-1
9.3
M.Rudolph
279
0.071
0.07
0.049
49.50%
68.2
68
0.2
7.5
J.Flacco
291
0.08
0.082
0.049
47.40%
66.9
65.9
1.1
8.9
R.Wilson
416
0.084
0.041
0.019
43.30%
69.9
65.5
4.5
7.8
D.Prescott
341
0.05
0.028
0.018
44.30%
66.8
67.6
-0.9
7.9
B.Young
475
0.054
0.015
0.008
41.90%
65.2
64.5
0.7
8.7
M.Jones
315
0.044
0.006
0.002
43.50%
68.4
68.9
-0.5
7.6
D.Maye
459
0.067
0.018
-0.007
47.50%
69.9
67
2.8
7.6
C.Stroud
656
0.036
0.001
-0.007
42.40%
66
67.7
-1.7
8.2
A.O’Connell
284
0.023
-0.006
-0.01
45.40%
66.4
70
-3.6
7.8
J.Winston
354
0.047
0.035
-0.016
44.90%
62.8
64.6
-1.8
9.1
D.Jones
450
0.053
0
-0.02
46.20%
68.1
66.7
1.5
7.5
C.Williams
750
0.039
-0.017
-0.026
41.60%
67.2
67.3
-0.1
7.9
A.Richardson
372
-0.025
-0.035
-0.051
40.60%
50.6
61.5
-10.9
12.3
C.Rush
362
-0.013
-0.049
-0.082
42.00%
61.7
69.8
-8.1
6.9
G.Minshew II
370
0.033
-0.056
-0.113
45.40%
72.2
71.7
0.5
6.2
D.Lock
217
-0.006
-0.076
-0.141
42.40%
61.8
67.9
-6.1
6.6
J.Brissett
202
0.008
-0.141
-0.157
41.60%
63.3
66.2
-2.9
6.4
W.Levis
403
0.022
-0.115
-0.173
38.20%
65.1
65.5
-0.4
9
S.Rattler
285
-0.025
-0.191
-0.219
38.90%
61
70.1
-9.1
7.7
D.Watson
298
0.014
-0.222
-0.233
34.60%
65.2
67.5
-2.2
7.2
Wilson was also superior to all of the Giants’ quarterbacks in touchdown percentage, interception rate, passer rating, yards per attempt, yards per completion (by 2 full yards) and net yards per pass attempt.
Wilson and his infamous “moon ball” are also in play. On passes of more than 20 yards, Wilson led the NFL in completion percentage (54%) and passer rating (97.3). While Wilson completed 27 of 50 such throws, Jones completed just 8 of 31 (25.8%), 37th in the NFL. Lock completed 4 of 23, a 17.4% completion rate that placed him last among 42 qualifiers.
GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll have gone all-in on the idea that quarterback play has been the biggest deficiency on an offense that was 30th in scoring in 2023 and 31st in 2024 in a 32-team league. The quarterback change is the only significant personnel move made on the offensive side of the ball.
Could the level of quarterback play Wilson provided in 2024 have turned a three-win season into a six- or seven-win season? Perhaps.
More importantly, against a brutal schedule considered the most difficult in the league, can the level of play Wilson is capable of providing help the Giants avoid a repeat of 2024? That, of course, is to be determined.
If it can’t, the Giants’ future at the position could start sooner rather than later.
Long term
This one should be obvious. The Giants are in the best long-term position at quarterback they have been in since they drafted Jones, because they now finally have a long-awaited long-term option other than Jones.
Nobody knows what the future holds for Jaxson Dart. Maybe he will be the answer. Maybe the Giants will regret not drafting J.J. McCarthy last year. Maybe they will regret not waiting for Garrett Nussmeier or Arch Manning next year.
I am not going to make a prediction about Dart’s future or offer deep analysis here. You can check the podcasts below for some of that. The simple fact that he is in place is a step in the right direction for the Giants.
More coverage
Position-by-position looks at the defense are upcoming.