J.J. McCarthy's first start with the New York Giants was a pleasant surprise, and no one can take that away from him. That said, let's all take a nice swig of some settle-down juice, please.
Recency bias can be dangerous, especially in our hot-take culture, and McCarthy is a prime example. One impressive outing has ignited talks of a Giants quarterback controversy, as if Jaxson Dart didn't put the NFL on notice as a rookie last season. This is why we can't have nice things.
The McCarthy mania has gone too far. Notable media members are floating the possibility of the third-year pro usurping Dart as New York's signal-caller of the future. NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah seems to be among those drinking the Kool-Aid, almost to an absurd degree.
"If J.J. McCarthy plays like this ... for the rest of the year, I think the Giants could be looking at their long-term starting quarterback," Jeremiah said (h/t the Move the Sticks podcast). "I'm just telling you, if J.J. plays like this, they're going to have a tough decision to make there."
J.J. McCarthy is nowhere near a real threat to Jaxson Dart's future
Oh, how quickly people can forget. Dart established himself as one of football's most dynamic dual threats in 2025. It's barely been 365 days since his breakout primetime showcase against the Philadelphia Eagles. Heck, the 23-year-old torched the Dallas Cowboys to kick off 2026 less than two months ago.
Yes, it'd be naive to shut down the idea of the G-Men moving forward with McCarthy in 2027 and beyond entirely; technically, there's a nonzero chance. But can we be real about how unlikely this is?
It's like that scene in Family Guy, when Peter Griffin has the choice between a boat and a mystery box. To him, the boat, which is Dart in this case, is just a boat. The enigmatic mystery box (McCarthy) can be anything, though — even a boat!
See what we're saying? Of course, at the end of the day, having to pick between two rising young QBs would be a fantastic problem to have. Yet, McCarthy's best-case scenario is doing a Dart impression, so why not stick with the original?
McCarthy's live arm, playmaking and ability to impact the ground game with his mobility are apparent. He has the potential to be a franchise QB, which is why the Minnesota Vikings drafted him No. 10 overall in 2024. The upside is why Big Blue took the swing and traded for the Michigan product in the first place.
Nevertheless, Dart has outdone everything McCarthy has displayed in small doses. The latter isn't the former, and vice versa, no matter how badly some want to push that narrative.
Perhaps most importantly, however, Giants head coach John Harbaugh has made his sky-high confidence in Dart known, and the two have developed a strong relationship.
As long as John Harbaugh is around, Jaxson Dart is the Giants' QB1
Harbaugh's fondness for Dart as a player and a person is no secret since getting hired in January. It was a key factor in New York's successful courtship of the Super Bowl XLVII winner, if not the main reason.
Many would take a beat to assess what went wrong upon getting fired. Instead, one day after his dismissal from the Baltimore Ravens, Harbaugh began "talking up" Dart, as The Athletic's Dan Duggan previously reported. If that doesn't tell you how much ground McCarthy has to cover, frankly, nothing will.
Again, we should give credit where due. There's no denying that McCarthy deserves props for coming in and immediately making the most of his new situation. At the same time, appreciating him doesn't mean dragging Dart into the conversation, particularly given the Harbaugh element.
Barring a drastic turn of events, Dart will be the Giants' first-string passer of the present and for the long haul when healthy. He's currently recovering from an unfortunate knee injury that cut his second campaign well short.
Let's at least see McCarthy replicate his performance before opening up such a big can of worms. He'll have to stack games to truly challenge for the top spot in New York, and consistency, or lack thereof, has been an issue for him.
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