Jaxson Dart’s first official NFL training camp with the New York Giants is nearly upon us, and the first-round draft pick gave fans a little taste of what they can expect from him in a couple of weeks on July 14.
In a social media clip that was originally shared on his Instagram story, Dart launches a football from a boat at a moving target who is riding on the back of a Jet Ski. Unfortunately, the “receiver” drops the impressive dime of a pass, but the incompletion is no fault of Dart, who puts it right on the money.
Before long, Dart’s video caught the attention of national football accounts like B/R Gridiron, who quickly shared the clip with followers on X.
“Jaxson Dart has a absolute CANNON 💥,” B/R Gridiron captioned the post, complimenting the Giants rookie’s arm.
Fans appeared to agree, considering the share generated 450-plus likes and over 300,000 views in under 24 hours.
Should Giants Fans Temper Jaxson Dart Expectations Ahead of Training Camp?
With Russell Wilson as the clear QB1 entering training camp, the Giants have hinted that they are in no rush to start Dart early in the season. Even if some have already begun calling for the rookie to play.
On that note, it feels wise for NYG supporters to temper their expectations heading into August.
Dart showed some intangibles this spring, winning over teammates within the locker room and media members at the podium — which isn’t always a given in New York City. He’s also demonstrated that he has the arm talent, whether he’s throwing at a Jet Ski or an NFL wide receiver.
What the rookie will likely struggle with, and what he did have some trouble with at OTAs and minicamp, is consistency reading opposing defenses and coverages.
This is very common with rookie quarterbacks and is in no way a major concern at this stage. But it does confirm something that most analysts and fans assumed from the get-go.
Dart is not Jayden Daniels or C.J. Stroud. He’s not expected to walk onto the field in Week 1 and light the world on fire without any growing pains, and that doesn’t mean he won’t pan out.
It just means he’s similar to most QB prospects, and that he might benefit from sitting and watching Wilson navigate the early difficulties of a tough 2025 schedule.
So, enjoy watching Dart learn and grow this summer, but don’t expect a Super Bowl champion quarterback by the time we hit the first week of the preseason. Instead, trust the Giants’ process, which appears unwavering despite the intense outside pressure to turn things around.
Giants Beat Reporter Discusses ‘Wide Variety of Outcomes’ for Dart’s QB Draft Range
Late-first-round quarterbacks tend to be less common. They’ve also had mixed results in recent decades, which The Athletic’s NYG beat reporter Dan Duggan outlined on July 9.
“Of the 49 quarterbacks drafted in the first round from 2010-2024, only seven were selected between picks 20 and 32,” he relayed. “That puts Dart, who was the 25th pick this year, in a small group that has experienced a wide variety of outcomes.”
“Lamar Jackson, who was the 32nd pick in 2018, is the ultimate success story, winning two MVPs for the Baltimore Ravens. The Green Bay Packers also hit on Jordan Love with the 26th pick in the 2020 draft,” Duggan continued.
Concluding: “Otherwise, the late-first-round quarterbacks have been varying degrees of busts: Kenny Pickett, Paxton Lynch, Johnny Manziel, Brandon Weeden and Tim Tebow.”
Needless to say, Giants fans will be hoping Dart is more like Jackson and Love than he is Pickett and the others.
