The NY Giants hopefully found their franchise quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft, especially after trading back into the first round to land him. Jaxson Dart is who the Giants think can lead them out of irrelevancy and to the promised land. When trying to find his next quarterback of the future, GM Joe Schoen wanted to find the next Josh Allen, or at least that's what he told NFL insider Albert Breer.
Schoen was Bills GM Brandon Beane's second-in-command when the Bills moved up in the first round of the 2018 draft to land Allen so he knew what it would take to find that guy. Breer wrote about how the Giants were fond of Drake Maye in last year's draft but couldn't get a trade worked out to move up and take him early in the first round.
That meant that taking a quarterback in 2025 was a high possibility for Schoen and the Giants, even with Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston signing with the team in the offseason. Dart caught Schoen's eye at the Manning Passing Academy and eventually saw the Ole Miss quarterback play in the Egg Bowl in November. That's where it all clicked into place for Schoen.
“What really stands out about Jaxson is his passion for the game, leadership amongst his teammates and how he can cross sides of the ball,” Schoen says. “Like, he’s not just sitting over with the offense the entire time. You see him interacting with the defense as well. That’s a big part of the live exposure—you have a bad throw, or you have a three-and-out, you come over to the sideline, who are you interacting with? Which coaches? Are you talking to your receivers? Are you talking to your line? Are you by yourself? Are you not?
“You get back up, go to the sideline and watch the defense out there. Those are all things that we’re watching and evaluating.”
NY Giants fans will love Joe Schoen's Jaxson Dart comments
The Giants have struggled to find a franchise quarterback since Eli Manning retired following the 2019 season. Daniel Jones didn't end up panning out but the Giants are hoping that Dart has a much different outcome.
Hopefully Wilson (or Winston) can help mentor Dart and he doesn't get thrown to the wolves until he's ready to play. If he does indeed become the guy that the Giants think he can be, then Schoen might have ended up landing the steal of the draft.