Jaxson Dart is going to \u201creally like\u201d how Likely runs routes and gets into the quarterback\u2019s line of vision. \u201cHe\u2019s got a big catch radius. He can make plays after he makes a catch,\u201d said Harbaugh. \u201cHe can get up field. He can make people miss. He can run people over. He\u2019s a very good perimeter blocker. You\u2019ll see that. That will be good for our run game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harbaugh wants a high-powered offense \u201cthat\u2019s going to be elegant enough to handle all the complicated things that go with attacking defenses nowadays and simple enough for the players to operate in action, in battle, in the heat of battle just like that in a really effective way.\u201d That\u2019s where Dart comes in. During his rookie year, the quarterback showed he can \u201clive in a lot of different worlds.\u201d That fits what Harbaugh did in Baltimore. \u201cIt\u2019s built around a lot of different elements.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe Schoen on the top of the draft<\/p>\n
The presence of Jaxson Dart has the potential to change everything for the New York Giants.<\/p>\n
The 22-year-old quarterback won\u2019t be here at The Biltmore for the NFL Annual Meeting, just as he was not at the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis last month. Much has been made about Dart\u2019s aura since he was drafted by the Giants, so it should come as no surprise that his impact on the franchise is felt even when he\u2019s not around.<\/p>\n
It is noteworthy that Giants co-owner John Mara is on the scene at this meeting even as he continues with his cancer treatments. Mara was not strong enough to attend road games during the 2025 season. Mara was seen Sunday walking through a corridor at the Biltmore alongside Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, the two chatting as they headed toward a meeting.<\/p>\n
That Mara, 71, made it here should not be taken for granted, considering his health concerns. For decades he has been a noticeable presence at these league get-togethers, not only as the voice of his franchise but also as an influential member of the prestigious Competition Committee, which studies all aspects of the game and implements rules changes.Chris Mara, the team\u2019s senior player personnel executive and a board director, is also representing Giants ownership at this meeting. Chris Mara, with older brother John also involved, assumed a more prominent and key role in the aggressive push to hire John Harbaugh.<\/p>\n
DT D.J. Reader. There are high hopes in New York this season. However, there are still some real questions on defense, especially against the run. No team in the NFC surrendered more rushing yards per game last year than the Giants, and the team gave up a league-worst 5.3 yards per carry.<\/p>\n
Reader isn\u2019t going to add much to the pass rush with just 12.5 career sacks over a decade in the NFL. But he has started 128 games in the middle of the defensive line, and the 330-pounder is a plus run defender. Pairing the 31-year-old with Dexter Lawrence would give the Giants significantly more muscle at the point of attack.<\/p>\n
8. New York Giants, Top Draft Pick Prediction: Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State Projected Trade: The Saints acquire pick No. 5 from the Giants for pick No. 8, No. 73, and a 2027 fourth-round pick. The Giants are able to move down a few spots, pick up a third-round pick this year, which they didn\u2019t have, along with a pick in next year\u2019s draft, and still have a choice between Styles and fellow Ohio State teammate Caleb Downs. New head coach John Harbaugh has shown throughout his time in Baltimore that he covets elite linebackers, and if you couple that with GM Joe Schoen\u2018s tendency to target elite RAS numbers in Round 1, then Styles is someone who checks all the boxes.<\/p>\n
New hats for this year\u2019s draft<\/p>\n
The first offseason workout program in John Harbaugh\u2019s Giants tenure will open up April 7. Under NFL rules, teams that hire a new head coach may begin their offseason workout program on April 6\u2014two weeks earlier than teams with returning head coaches, which start on April 20. The program is voluntary for players, of course, but a majority of the roster will be in attendance. The start of the offseason program comes just under four weeks before the 2026 NFL draft, which begins on April 23.<\/p>\n
Have a Giants-related question? E-mail it to bigblueview@gmail.com and it might be featured in our weekly mailbag.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jaxson Dart is going to \u201creally like\u201d how Likely runs routes and gets into the quarterback\u2019s line of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":642822,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2067],"tags":[7,519,1917,56,1207,2321,2469,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-844732","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-giants","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-giants","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-giants","12":"tag-new-york-giants-news","13":"tag-newyork","14":"tag-newyorkgiants","15":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116323552610891232","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=844732"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844732\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/642822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=844732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=844732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=844732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}