As Jaxson Dart thrives again, Giants rave: ‘He’s going to be a great quarterback’

Jaxson Dart pulled the cream-colored hat down over his still-wet hair. Across the front of it, stitched in tan lettering: “LOVE.”

He reached for his cologne and sprayed some on his arms. Then he slung a brown Louis Vuitton backpack over his shoulders and walked out of the Giants’ locker room, fist bumping a security guard without breaking stride.

Dart was the picture of calm after thriving in his MetLife Stadium debut Saturday night, during the Giants’ second preseason game, against the Jets — the first of what this win-starved franchise hopes are many eye-popping performances here.

Before heading home, Dart strolled through the stadium’s underbelly, still finding his way, wearing an unbuttoned short-sleeved white lace shirt, a black undershirt and matching basketball shorts and Crocs, with high socks.

It was, well, a look — a vibe even.

Moments earlier, in the locker room, Dart’s teammates raved about his second straight strong preseason showing — 14-of-16 passing, 137 yards, two touchdowns (including one rushing) and a 123.2 rating. This is the sort of game that will have fans calling for him to push starter Russell Wilson, sooner rather than later.

While his teammates — let alone coach Brian Daboll — aren’t saying publicly that should happen, it’s clear they love what the fearless first-round rookie has shown.

“He’s going to be a great player, just based off his confidence, based off his reads,” receiver Jalin Hyatt told NJ Advance Media. “He’s not scared of throwing the ball. He’s greedy — and that’s what you want from a quarterback. Greedy and aggressive.

“He looks downfield. That’s why I think he’s going to go a long way. Just having him be as confident as he is as a rookie, it’s very impressive. When his shot does come, he’ll take advantage. He’s going to be a great quarterback. When his chance comes, it’s going to be fun to watch. He’s going to be a great player for us for sure.”

Early in the third quarter Saturday, Dart quickly spotted a wide-open Greg Dulcich over the middle and fired a laser to him for a 20-yard touchdown. This decisiveness — and, more importantly, anticipation — has won teammates over, even as it’s obvious Dart still has a long way to go before he wins a Super Bowl.

“His anticipation for when guys get open is very, very impressive,” Hyatt said. “He’s shown that in training camp. Seeing it out here [in games], now it’s like we know he’s going to do that.”

Sometimes, during practice, Dart leans into the huddle and tells a receiver he will get the ball: “Hyatt, I’m coming to you.” That’s unusual for a young quarterback.

“Having Jaxson do it as a rookie, it brings a lot of confidence from receivers for sure,” Hyatt said.

As Hyatt spoke, Dart strolled by — en route from the shower to his locker — and shot Hyatt a playful, goofy glance. A 22-year-old kid letting himself enjoy the afterglow of an encouraging evening. Stop and smell the cologne, if you will.

Of course, so much work remains. Remember, this kid has played just portions of two preseason games. But he has handled everything well for the most part — and hasn’t turned the ball over once. Which goes a long way in East Rutherford these days.

Receiver Darius Slayton, skeptical by nature, never likes to draw too many conclusions about a quarterback based only on practices, because those settings hardly resemble games. So he wanted to see Dart in a game, to truly judge him.

“Games aren’t curated,” Slayton told NJ Advance Media. “Some people are gamers — and I think he’s one of those guys. Everybody looks good in practice, to some degree. Games are the real tell-all. And he played well.”

But Dart wanted more. When asked a general question afterward about how he played, the first thing he mentioned was getting pulled down by his feet for no gain on third down while playing a drive with the starters late in the first half.

“That’s going to haunt me for a little bit,” he said. “That’s the thought that’s in my head right now. Because I should’ve scored. If I had just got my feet up, I would’ve scored.”

Still, his successful first game day in his new stadium left him feeling, well …

“It was sick,” he said, offering a quintessentially Gen-Z response.

So what now? Should the Giants give him first-team reps in practice and let him challenge Wilson? If not, when might Dart start? All those questions linger.

Slayton, a seventh-year pro, injected some caution. He pointed out that Patrick Mahomes didn’t start (or even play) until the final game of his rookie year, and Lamar Jackson first started in Week 11 of his debut season.

“There’s pretty solid evidence that having time pays off on the back end,” Slayton said. “I think we’ve kind of gotten to a point where everybody wants to see a new quarterback as fast as they can. But I don’t actually think that gives you the best result possible.”

In many cases, especially not for the player.

“We’ve seen it,” Slayton said. “I mean, look at [former Jets quarterback] Sam Darnold. For six years, people thought he was a bust. And then he goes out and puts together one of the best seasons last year [in Minnesota].”

Pushing a rookie quarterback to play before he is ready — or behind a porous offensive line (which the Giants might have again) — has “messed up a lot of guys,” Slayton said.

So that’s the ultimate 2025 goal for Daboll and the Giants: Don’t mess up Dart.

For his part, Dart wasn’t thinking that broadly late Saturday night — if only because so many details here were still new to him. He said he didn’t even realize this was a Giants home game. When his press conference ended, a Giants staffer reminded him to stop by the family gathering area on his way out.

“Can you show me where that’s at?” he asked softly.

Soon, he was back in the hallway, finding his destination, one step at a time.