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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Jaxson Dart wasn’t sure if head coach Brian Daboll meant it.

The New York Giants were playing the New York Jets in their second preseason game, and Russell Wilson was guiding the Giants’ first-team offense. So did Daboll really want his rookie first-rounder to go in the game for a single snap in the middle of a second-quarter series?

“He kind of will do things out of the blue a lot, so you don’t really know if he’s dead-ass serious,” Dart told Yahoo Sports. “I was like, ‘Are you serious?’”

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Daboll was. So Dart did.

The 25th pick of the 2025 NFL Draft entered the game and immediately hit tight end Theo Johnson in space behind the line of scrimmage for what Johnson turned into a 30-yard gain.

Then Wilson went back into the game — all as planned.

“You never know when you’re going to have to go in, so just part of the multiple things we’ve done with a young quarterback,” Daboll said. “He’s still got a lot to learn, but he’s growing every day.”

At Tuesday’s training camp practice, Dart continued that growth, working primarily behind Wilson but again receiving a handful of snaps with the Giants’ first team.

He flipped one pass to tight end Greg Dulcich and hit another (albeit tipped) pass to wide receiver Jordan Bly from about 50 yards out.

Wilson scored in red-zone team work first on a pass to Darius Slayton, but Dart wasn’t far behind finding Beaux Collins.

This isn’t an open quarterback competition, Wilson firmly in the starting seat. But a room with Wilson, Jameis Winston, Dart and third-year-in-this-system Tommy DeVito leaves the Giants feeling better about their quarterback room than they have recently.

The Giants seem adamant that Wilson will be their starter for Week 1 and the foreseeable future, on the bases of Wilson’s considerably deeper experience and an organizational belief in giving a rookie time to acclimate and develop.

It’s too soon to know whether that patience will last the entire 2025 season. But the Giants believe Wilson’s leadership, moon ball and operational efficiency will upgrade their offense from last year.

They believe Dart will learn from Wilson — and from Winston, whom assistant general manager Brandon Brown praised Tuesday while suggesting trade offers do not interest the Giants.

Dart supports that decision.

“He’s one of the greatest teammates that I’ve ever had,” Dart said of Winston, who also praised Wilson’s command and discipline.

“When I come off the field, I’m able to talk to him and we’re just able to go over the tape and pick through the things that he sees from the defensive side of the ball that’ll help me next time I’m on the field, so that’s super cool.

“And [Winston] is the best encourager. I think that’s really special to have and the quality that you really need to have as a quarterback.”

On and off the field, Dart allures Giants

When the Giants spent about six hours working out Dart in Oxford, Mississippi before his Pro Day, they developed confidence in his arm talent withstanding Northeast weather and wind, and his athleticism catering to a game that increasingly favors mobile quarterbacks.

The Giants knew Dart was coming off three starting seasons at Ole Miss (after transferring from USC), his final campaign featuring an SEC-best 4,279 passing yards and 29 touchdowns to six interceptions.

Dart’s 10.8 passing yards per attempt and 4,774 yards from scrimmage led the NCAA, as did his 180.7 passer rating and 9.1 yards per play clip.

The production was there. But the Giants also saw a leader who could galvanize a locker room. Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen thought back to their last stop, where Josh Allen energized the Buffalo Bills.

They saw that potential in Dart, whose “moxie” Daboll trumpets.

“He’s got a kind of swagger and aura and element to him that he’s the everyman,” Brown said Tuesday. “He can connect with the skill guys, to the linemen, to the receivers, to the DBs. And it doesn’t matter old, young, or vet. He’s got that cool way about him that guys cling to.”

The combination convinced the Giants to trade back up to the 25th pick to select Dart after they’d taken outside linebacker Abdul Carter with the third overall pick. And early returns on the decision are encouraging.

Many teams are wary of putting too much stock in preseason statistics. But for those who do buy what the preseason is selling, Dart has excelled. In two games, he’s competed 26 of 35 pass attempts for 291 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

He’s also picked up 29 yards and a touchdown on five carries.

The Giants see a quarterback who’s playing fast, accurately and instinctually.

Dart values that the Giants let him lean into those instincts.

“It’s really cool to play in an offense where you’ve kind of just been tossed the keys,” Dart said.

“I can go out there and change players whenever I want to, and I feel comfortable with that. So I think that’s been really fun. Sometimes you’ll see something defensively in the game and you’re like, ‘I want to get to this,’ and you have the full freedom to do that.

“Quarterbacks have the keys to the ship when you’re out there on the field … as a rookie, you don’t get that everywhere.”

Dart knows he needs to continue gaining trust, on the field and around Giants headquarters, as he learns from a deep-résuméd quarterback room until it’s his time to carry the ship keys more fully.

Until then, he’ll keep leaving himself voicenotes to review on the bus, and he’ll keep joining Winston for late-night yoga sessions as he aims to stay mentally and physically ready.

He wants to be ready when his opportunity comes — to play another midseries preseason snap, or to start indefinitely.

“Have a lot of confidence in the young man,” Daboll said. “Does he make mistakes? Absolutely, he makes mistakes.

He makes a lot of them, I make a lot of them, but you learn together, and for a young quarterback, you grow together.

“We’re making mistakes, we’re trying to learn from them, making some good plays, you learn from those. That’s where we’re at.

“Early part of a young quarterback’s development.”