With how often CBS Sports brings up New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart’s injury history, you’d think a massive first-aid logo would appear on his profile page.
CBS Sports has repeatedly mentioned Dart’s various concussions and aggressive playstyle throughout the offseason, to the point where it’s easy to forget that he’s one of the league’s most exciting young quarterbacks.
Bryan DeArdo appears to be the anti-Dart club’s latest member, albeit not to the extent of his colleagues. DeArdo recently put Dart in the “Promising Prospect” tier of his quarterback rankings. That is the third of five tiers, though the worst tier, “Prized Project,” consists solely of the Raiders’ Fernando Mendoza.
Dart joined the Saints’ Tyler Shough, the Titans’ Cam Ward, and the Dolphins’ Malik Willis in Tier 3.
“John Harbaugh is again tasked with helping his quarterback maximize his talent while also helping him avoid taking unnecessary hits, which has been Dart’s Achilles heel,” DeArdo wrote of Dart.
In fairness to DeArdo, he did acknowledge that all four quarterbacks showed “some level of promise” and praised Dart’s determination.
Why does the national media have a problem with Jaxson Dart and the Giants?
Between CBS Sports and ESPN, much of the national media coverage involving the Giants has been cynical at best and blatantly inaccurate at worst.
CBS Sports’ Jared Dubin turned heads earlier this spring when he ripped Dart for continuously putting himself at risk of injury. Dubin all but admitted he does not believe that Dart can be a franchise quarterback.
Dubin also expressed doubts about the Dart, Harbaugh, and Matt Nagy partnership, while simultaneously sharing his hopes for the Ward, Robert Saleh, and Brian Daboll trio. Alright then.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell arguably did something far worse, pushing narratives about Cam Skattebo’s efficiency through questionable numbers.
To be clear, the issue isn’t referencing Dart’s multiple trips to the blue medical tent. I’m personally guilty of doing it, though there’s always some layer of context or justification.
Arguing that the Giants proved their loyalty to Dart by not drafting a quarterback in April despite his injury history is far different than the national media’s tendency to force the tired trope of “Dart can’t prove that he can stay healthy.”
Yet, Joe Burrow often gets a pass (pun not intended) because the media pretends that we’re still in 2022. Never mind that Burrow has missed 16 of 34 games since the start of 2023 but appeared in DeArdo’s top tier.
I’m personally curious to see what happens if Dart stays healthy. Will we spend next offseason reading about how Dart playing all 17 games was a fluke? Or will he get his flowers?
What moves the needle is negativity, and negativity always sells.
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