For all the excitement and hype building around Jaxson Dart, the quarterback not making many headlines is the one who actually has the starting job. Russell Wilson isn't exactly trying to win over the New York Giants fan base at this point... he's just trying to hold off the rookie long enough to survive the season as the starter.
And that could be a lot easier said than done. The 22-year-old had himself one heck of a preseason debut in Buffalo. And another electric outing from Dart against the Jets, and Wilson's grasp on the starting role will start to loosen. Not that he'd ever admit it, but Russ' best-case scenario is a little bit of growing pains from the guy about to steal his job.
The G-Men will play host to Gang Green on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. EST for their second preseason game of the season. As if sharing a city and stadium wasn’t enough, the two teams also held joint practices on Tuesday and Wednesday leading up to the game, so they should be plenty familiar with each other by now. There are still a few roster spots up for grabs, but none more compelling than the quarterback job.
Jaxson Dart’s breakout debut officially turned up the heat on Russell Wilson
Not many rookie quarterbacks looked as poised as Dart did in his preseason debut. The former Ole Miss Rebel went 12-19 for 154 yards and a touchdown. While the counting stats were impressive in their own right, it was his ability to stand in the pocket and make throws that was really impressive.
Related: 4 telling observations from Jaxson Dart's preseason showing vs the Bills
Of course, he had his rookie moments. He held onto the ball too long at times, didn't always work through his progressions, and missed some pretty easy throws, but overall, it was an incredible start for the future face of the franchise. And if anyone is rooting for a couple more errant throws and misseed progressions, it might just be the 36-year-old.
Firstly, Russ feels like a team-first guy. It is horrifically unlikely he'd be rooting for Dart to fail. That being said, would it be the most outrageous thing in the world if he wanted to hold onto the starting spot a little bit longer? Like, make it to Week 1 longer?
As soon as New York traded up and selected Dart with the 25th pick, head coach Brian Daboll immediately poured ice-cold water on the notion that the rookie would start Day 1. He even reiterated that same narrative during training camp. Everything coming out of the organization suggests nothing has changed.
But plans were meant to be changed, and Jaxson Dart has the tools to rip that plan apart. He’ll get another shot against the Jets to do just that. And that has to be nightmare fuel for the veteran.
Russell Wilson hasn’t done anything wrong. At least not yet. But when the hopeful franchise rookie starts turning heads, fans don’t usually care. Another game like Buffalo and Wilson won’t just be competing with Dart. He’ll be competing with Giants Nation. And that’s a much harder fight.