Matt Citak: Heading into training camp, we knew the development of quarterback Jaxson Dart would be one of the biggest storylines of the summer. The Giants traded up in the draft to take him with the 25th overall pick, so naturally all eyes would be on the rookie signal-caller. Now it’s only been two games, and as we all know, preseason stats don’t actually count. Nonetheless, it’s hard not to feel encouraged by what we’ve seen out of Dart thus far.
Dart followed up last week’s strong outing against the Bills with an even more impressive night against the Jets. The 22-year-old’s outing began with a surprise moment. During Russell Wilson’s fourth drive of the game, coach Brian Daboll tested Dart’s readiness by quickly subbing the rookie in for one play. Dart, who after the game admitted he didn’t know if Daboll was serious at first, completed a tight end screen to Theo Johnson, who was able to gain 30 yards on the play.
“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 in years past, where I was before, and thought it would be good for him for a play to get in there and not know that he’s going in there,” Daboll said after the game. “He didn’t know it. He threw a little screen pass for 30, doesn’t hurt.”
Dart then took over at quarterback on the next drive, where he proceeded to throw incomplete passes on his next two attempts. From then on, though, the rookie was dominant. Dart didn’t throw an incomplete pass for the remainder of the night as he completed 13 consecutive attempts. He finished his night 14 of 16 for 137 yards and a touchdown, good for a 123.2 passer rating, while adding another score on the ground. While his stats look great on paper, the way he operated the offense and remained composed in the backfield was even more impressive.
“I think that I’m just trying to improve myself each and every day,” Dart said after the win. “The quarterback room has played at a very high level. A lot of the guys in my room who I really look up to, so I try to continue to pick their brains. I’m in a really unique and cool situation right now. So I’m just trying to learn from them, learn from all my coaches. Whenever my number is called, I think that I’m just going to try to do my best. But I’m also just going to be the best teammate that I can be and try to push this team in the best direction to win.”
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