Giants Legend Has Bold Take on First-Round QB Jaxson Dart

The New York Giants enter the 2025 NFL season with oppositional goals in place.

Both head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen likely have a mandate to win enough games to save their jobs this fall, which could lead to Russell Wilson taking the lion’s share of snaps at quarterback and New York would be wise to get first-round pick Jaxson Dart on the field to begin evaluating his upside and whether the Giants have a franchise quarterback on their hands.

It’s difficult to accomplish both, which is compounded by the Giants set to face the most difficult strength of schedule across the league.

However, Phil Simms believes he has a road map for a best-case scenario for Daboll, Dart, and the Giants this fall.

Phil Simms Calls for New York Giants to Play Jaxson Dart

Adam Hunger | GettyNew York Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart could play a major role in head coach Brian Daboll’s future.

During a recent appearance on Up and Adams with Kay Adams on FanDuelTV, Simms says he believes there are some parallels between his own rookie season and the situation that Dart is walking into as the No. 25 overall pick in this spring’s draft.

“The ideal situation,” Simms told Adams. “And I hate to say this, because I never like to put me in it. But, 1979, I wasn’t ready to start the season. But, I stood on the sideline, and after about the third game, I go ‘ You know, I kind of got it now, I really feel so much more confident that if I do get in the game and play, that I’m going to do well. And, two weeks later, I was the starter.”

All signs point to the Giants opening the season with Wilson as the starting quarterback, and New York trying to make a go at being competitive with what has the potential to be an improved offensive line, wide receiver Malik Nabers making strides in his second season and a defense that has the potential to field one of the more disruptive pass rushes across the league.

So, Simms thinks there might be an ideal backdrop for the Giants to show enough promise to lend some security to Daboll and Schoen while also setting the stage for Dart to see the field.

“So,” Simms says. “The ideal situation, to me, let’s not talk about the playoffs and all that about the Giants. But, they get off to a decent start, we see the whole team is better than it was last year, the defensive line, the last two drafts have been very good, all that, and they’re respectable.

“But, there comes a point, six or seven weeks into the season, and then I think, unless you see that there’s an opportunity really be great, we have to find a spot to get Jaxson Dart in there, give him some experience, and let him have some success and some failures. Because, that’s how you grow in the NFL, as a quarterback.”

At some point, the Giants are going to need to get Dart playing time and get him on the field. That’s especially true if it becomes simultaneously obvious that there aren’t enough pieces around Wilson, nor is the 36-year-old capable of elevating his supporting cast enough to contend for a playoff berth with that Dart proving in practice that he’s not going to hold the offense back or be a danger to himself on the field.

Whether that comes early in the season following a strong training camp by the former Ole Miss standout, or when New York is long out of contention is at this point, anyone’s guess.

However, if the losses begin to mount, Daboll and Schoen might eventually face a proposition where Dart’s promise might be the only remaining card they hold to save their jobs beyond this season.

When Might be The Ideal Time for The Giants to Play Jaxson Dart?

Adam Hunger/GettyHead coach Brian Daboll and the New York Giants face the NFL’s toughest strength of schedule in 2025.

Unfortunately for Dart, Daboll, Schoen, and the Giants, there might not be many soft landings awaiting on New York’s schedule to get the rookie quarterback on the field at a point where he’s set up to build some confidence.

Not only do the Giants open up with three games against teams who made the NFL Playoffs last season, in the first four weeks, including the Washington Commanders, who reached the NFC Championship Game, and the AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs, but after a one week “respite” against the New Orleans Saints, New York faced the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on a Thursday night for the first of two matchups over a three-week span followed by a stretch of games against the San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, and Detroit Lions.

That’s just a brutal slate for a team coming off a last-place finish in the division.

Perhaps the best time for the Giants to insert Dart into the lineup could be Week 14 against the New England Patriots.

However, time will tell if ownership will give the coaching staff the luxury of calling the shots at that point, if the Giants don’t get off to some semblance of a fast start in what could be a make-or-break season for Daboll and Schoen.