It finally happened. After months of waiting and more waiting, New York Giants fans finally got to see their first-round rookie quarterback make his preseason debut against the Buffalo Bills. In what's been an endless QB carousel since Eli Manning, Big Blue is hoping they have finally found its guy in Dart.
Giants head coach Brian Daboll didn't waste much time throwing the 22-year-old into the fray. After Russell Wilson led the team to an opening drive field goal, it was Dart's time to shine. The rookie was put in with the twos — something he's been doing all training camp.
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The stakes aren’t exactly sky-high for Dart this preseason. It’s not do-or-die, but it sure would calm a lot of fans’ nerves if he showed why the G-Men traded back into the first round to grab the former Ole Miss Rebel. Dart’s day wrapped up after four drives, and with his first action in the books, here are four observations from his initial taste of NFL football.
4 telling observations from Jaxson Dart's preseason showing against the Bills
Dart's hot start
Dart came out of the game on fire. He looked poised and accurate, completing his first three passes. His first pass made its way to Zach Pascal for nine yards. Then his next two went Greg Dulcich's way for seven yards. On one of the plays, he evaded a would-be sack with some last-second shiftiness. While his opening drive ended in a punt, it didn't take the rookie long to get into a little groove.
Fortunately, he got some more run. The 29-yard touchdown pass to Lil'Jordan Humphrey on his second drive was electric. So was his 19-yard head-down designed sprint on first down of his third drive. Dart started hot and seemingly never cooled off.
Arm talent is legitimate
While the rookie was at Ole Miss, he was known for his electric arm talent. He has big-throw ability, especially downfield. Nothing emulated that more than his 29-yard touchdown pass to Lil'Jordan Humphrey on his second drive of the game.
It was clear that Dart was looking to make the bigger plays — he had some holding-onto-the-ball-too-long moments — but sometimes you just gotta trust what got you here in the first place. It's obvious No. 6 will look to utilize his arm talent to make some deep throws, to give this offense the vertical juice it's lacked for years.
Mobility will be his friend
Dart doesn't need to be Lamar Jackson. He couldn't come close even if he tried. But he does have the athletic profile to make some plays utilizing his legs. That doesn't necessarily mean designed runs, but just being able to move around the pocket, avoid sacks, and keep plays alive will do him wonders.
And he did just that. He extended some pretty electric plays — the slow-developing 18-yard screen pass to Dante Miller — but nothing showed his potential more than his designed 19-yard QB run on a surprise first-down playcall. If the rookie leans into his whole tool belt, he could be something special.
Ahead of schedule
There's no other way to put it, other than Jaxson Dart is ahead of schedule. "Developmental quarterbacks" aren't supposed to look this good right away against any defense, even in the preseason. Dart finished the day 12/19 for 154 yards and a touchdown.
His poise, athleticism, and arm talent were all on display Saturday. He was a bit inaccurate and held onto the ball a bit longer at points, but it's his first NFL action. Overall, it's hard not to get too excited about his debut. He might just be the answer.