New York Giants' general manager Joe Schoen entered the offseason on the hot seat, but another strong draft class has seemingly saved his job for the time being. In Big Blue's Week 4 victory over the Chargers, fans got a nice glimpse of the future at MetLife Stadium, which made up for the devastating loss of star receiver Malik Nabers with a torn ACL.
Last weekend marked the first NFL start for first-round quarterback Jaxson Dart, and the 22-year-old shined in his NFL debut. Dart completed 65% of his passes and totaled two scores against a stout Chargers defense, while his opening drive made future NFL head coach Jesse Minter look foolish.
However, Dart wasn't the only rookie to shine in Week 4. Fellow first-rounder Abdul Carter narrowly missed out on his first career sack, but lived in the backfield against a battered Los Angeles offensive line. And the impressive afternoon saw both of New York's marquee rookies land a spot on Sterling Xie's Week 4 All-Rookie Team for Pro Football Network.
Giants' rookies are giving fans a reason to believe
After selecting Carter with the No. 3 pick, Schoen and Brian Daboll traded back into the first round to select Dart at No. 25—and he quickly proved them right. The former Ole Miss standout threw for just 111 yards in Week 4, but managed to out-play Justin Herbert to lead Big Blue to their first victory of the season.
The Utah native lost his WR1 in the second quarter, but still managed to display enough resilience to topple the unbeaten Chargers. His debut was not perfect by any means, but he displayed the potential that a fanbase starving for stability under center was hoping for.
However, nobody was more fired up than Daboll.
And his poise after replacing a future Hall-of-Famer as QB1 is what was most promising. He has the moxie, and now the NFL world is rallying behind him.
Meanwhile, Carter recorded eight pressures and five quarterback hits for his best NFL outing after finally being lined up off the edge.
With the former Penn State standout playing alongside Brian Burns, Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux, the Giants' defensive line is what they hang their hat on, and fans just got to witness how lethal the unit can be in Week 4. The trio combined for two sacks, two tackles for loss, and a staggering 12 quarterback hits on Herbert—while Lawrence picked him off.
Additionally, PFN's list din't even include Cam Skattebo, who has shined in his own right. It's still early, but Carter and Dart have been the nucleus of what looks like another home run of a draft class from Schoen, which continues to set the tone for what looks to be a bright future for Big Blue.