EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — No image from this preseason was more illustrative of how New York Giants fans feel than the one of Jaxson Dart telling the people around him Thursday night to hurry it up so he could go play.

There will likely be a time this season, maybe soon, where fans feel exactly that way about the Giants and their rookie quarterback: Hurry it up and get him in the game.

They’re going to have to wait, though, just like Dart had to. The first-round pick exited Thursday’s 42-10 preseason win over the New England Patriots after failing to slide and instead taking a big hit from Jack Gibbens following a 23-yard scramble for a first down. After the play, which included a holding penalty on New England, Dart headed inside the blue medical tent on the sidelines to be evaluated for a concussion.

As the tent popped up, Dart mimed the hurry-up motion.

“I didn’t understand why I got (taken) off the field,” Dart said after the game. “I was just wanting to get back out there and finish the drive. Everybody was walking over, (and) I’m like, ‘Let’s go. I want to get back out there.’”

There wasn’t time for that.

Instead, Jameis Winston relieved Dart and immediately connected with wide receiver Jalin Hyatt for a 27-yard touchdown.

While Dart was quickly cleared to return to play, his night was over, and now he and Giants fans are left wondering how long it will be before he next takes the field.

It likely won’t be anytime soon, at least not if the Giants have their way. Veteran QB Russell Wilson remains the Giants’ starting quarterback, and he will likely remain their starter for as long as he’s healthy and the team is playing well. That leaves Dart time to learn from the sidelines, but there’s no doubt he’s given the team and its fans plenty of reason to be optimistic about the future.

Obviously, you have to be wary of making too much of exhibition performances, but Dart did everything he was supposed to this preseason, looking poised and confident while completing 68 percent of his passes (32-of-47) for three touchdowns and no interceptions in three games. He’s also added six rushes for 52 yards and a touchdown.

However, the rookie moments, like not sliding on that long scramble, were there, too.

“You know, you’d like to take as few hits as you can, but I like Jaxson’s competitiveness, his toughness,” coach Brian Daboll said after the game. “You got to make the right decision. Those are split-second decisions, so I trust him. I trust the guys I’ve been around. I just trust them to do the right thing. I’ll never take his competitiveness away.”

It’s hard not to think about the Giants’ future after Dart’s strong preseason. Along with high-quality play, he’s impressed teammates with his burgeoning leadership abilities. There’s reason to hope he could be the total package the Giants need him to be.

“He knows he has a lot of things to work on, but he’s made progress every day,” Daboll said. “I’m glad we drafted him, and I’m glad he’s our guy.”

STOCK UPAbdul Carter

The future is now, or at least it was in the third and final preseason game for the Giants. With most of the starters sitting out, first-round picks Abdul Carter and Dart served as the Giants’ captains, trotting out to midfield pregame for the coin toss.

Carter didn’t end up playing many snaps Thursday night, but he made an impact on those he did. Playing on third downs, Carter did what he’s been doing all summer: He created pressure for the quarterback. It honestly didn’t really seem fair to have him go against New England’s backups, and with that in mind, the regular season can’t come fast enough. It will be exciting to see what Carter can do in an entire game against starters.

That said, let’s take a quick moment to remember Carter is only a year into the position switch to edge. Outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen and other Giants coaches are trying to be mindful of what he’s really good at, but they’re also pushing him in training camp, putting a lot on his plate to force him to grow.

They plan to dial it back come game time, but Carter’s handling the load well so far, Bullen said recently.

“We have to identify exactly what the sweet spot is for him and what he can do,” the coach explained. “Where it’s not too much, but it’s manageable for him to play fast and do what he does well naturally.”

CB Art Green

While the cornerback 2 role remains TBD (more on that below), Green is taking advantage of extended opportunities to play. He finished Thursday with five tackles, second most on the team behind linebacker K.J. Cloyd (six). On one series where the Patriots went three-and-out, Green made all three tackles before the punt.

As a back-of-the-roster player, Green also has to have value on special teams, and he does, giving the Giants a solid gunner in punt coverage. Green became a core special teamer for New York after being promoted from the practice squad in Week 10 last season.

OL Marcus Mbow

Fifth-round rookie Mbow has gotten snaps in camp at both tackle spots and started Thursday’s game at left tackle with all of the offensive line starters sitting. He looked excellent in pass protection, which put a cherry on top of a strong camp, as he has made a case for the swing tackle job.

“Mbow’s doing a great job for us so far, really athletic,” left tackle Andrew Thomas said. “He always has an open ear, trying to learn, whether that’s (offensive lineman) Jermaine (Eluemunor) or me or James (Hudson), just trying to get better as a player. He seems eager to learn. He has that same grit, too, that I was talking about with Hud before. He likes to finish blocks, and I think that’s good.”

Depth TEs

With Chris Manhertz and Daniel Bellinger sidelined, Theo Johnson and Greg Dulcich had strong showings in the second preseason victory. Dulcich carried that momentum into the third and final game, tallying four receptions for 26 yards, including two touchdowns.

However, Dulcich played the whole game. He caught one touchdown pass from Dart in the first quarter, while Tommy DeVito hit him for a score in the fourth, which is a concern. Was he auditioning for other teams, playing that long into the third and final preseason game? We’ll find out what the Giants have planned for him, but it might not bode well for him that fellow backup tight end Tommy Fidone also played well Thursday night.

My beat partner, Dan Duggan, thinks the team’s fourth tight end spot will ultimately go to the rookie seventh-round pick. Fidone totaled four receptions for 39 yards, including a touchdown, on Thursday night.

STOCK DOWNOL Evan Neal

Remember, Neal was playing Thursday in just his second NFL game at right guard after moving inside this offseason. While his first game exposure featured some highs and lows, Game 2 showed far less promise. According to the Amazon Prime broadcast, Neal allowed four pressures on 22 pass block attempts. On one play, Neal allowed New England’s Jeremiah Pharms Jr. to get by him, leading to a Dart sack.

Pass protection has been where Neal has struggled in his transition to guard, while he’s looked solid in the run game. Fortunately for him, he’ll have more time to learn the nuances of playing guard, as he isn’t going to be starting Week 1. The right guard spot belongs to Greg Van Roten.

Damn national broadcast made an Evan Neal lowlight reel pic.twitter.com/ET0QRwMNhH

— Bobby Skinner (@BobbySkinner_) August 22, 2025

WR Jalin Hyatt

The 2023 third-round pick has also endured an up-and-down camp, twice missing time with injuries. However, he returned to play these past two preseason games. In the win over the Jets, Hyatt tallied just one reception for 21 yards.

Hyatt’s performance Thursday was more indicative of how his camp has gone as a whole. The first two deep balls intended for Hyatt fell incomplete. While the first one would have been a tough grab, the second incompletion was a clear drop on a perfectly placed ball by Dart.

Just when you thought you could start to ponder Hyatt’s future more seriously, he brought in the 27-yard touchdown catch from Winston. He finished with three receptions for 38 yards on six targets.

Hyatt’s been working with Wilson a lot this offseason, so it will be interesting to see if that connection can spark more production from Hyatt this year, if he makes the team.

Lingering defensive uncertainties

We were never going to get a clear answer on whether the Giants had fixed their run defense in the preseason. That will come in the regular season once Dexter Lawrence is playing. Something similar is true of whether they have a starting-caliber CB2 opposite of Paulson Adebo. The injuries Deonte Banks and Cor’Dale Flott have dealt with throughout the summer have hampered the competition. While Flott looked strong at times this summer, it’s still unclear who’s earned that starting role.

“I have confidence in both of them,” Daboll said.

We won’t know if the Giants have properly addressed these issues until the regular season. We just didn’t see enough throughout camp or the preseason to assuage fears about the defense’s top concerns.

(Photo: Al Bello / Getty Images)