There’s really only one thing that can crush the New York Giants’ and their fans’ hopes into oblivion, and that’s franchise quarterback hopeful Jaxson Dart not being able to pick up where Eli Manning left off nearly a decade ago.
Daniel Jones tried for six years and failed. Say what you will about his individual performance -- it left a lot to be desired -- but the team didn't exactly help him with their poor roster construction and head-scratching personnel decisions. Specifically, the offensive lines he played behind were bad, at best.
The 2019 sixth overall pick never quite had the opportunity to shine in Giants blue. The pass protection, or lack thereof, was consistently among the league’s worst, leading to high pressure rates, diabolical sack totals, and frequent injuries.
It’s why the same thing can’t happen with Dart, a sentiment shared by Pro Football Focus’ John Kosko, who sees not adding offensive line help to protect Dart as Big Blue's worst-case scenario:
"Dart was able to play well as a rookie with good protection, but he didn’t enjoy the talents of Malik Nabers — who suffered a torn ACL in Week 4. Nabers will return and provide a phenomenal weapon for Dart to target, so investing further in the offensive line to keep Dart upright is a must for the Giants in 2026."
Giants can’t afford to repeat the same offensive line mistakes again with Jaxson Dart
Andrew Thomas, Jon Runyan, John Michael Schmitz, and Jermaine Eluemunor are running it back from a line that finished ninth in PFF’s rankings in 2025. The lone starter missing is right guard Greg Van Roten, who is still waiting for a call in free agency.
General manager Joe Schoen already whiffed on Alijah Vera-Tucker, who signed with the New England Patriots, and the Houston Texans beat the G-Men out for Wyatt Teller. So, what are we doing here? What’s the actual plan?
There’s still time to sign a veteran in free agency. GVR has started the last 34 games for the Giants, making him an easy fit. Other vets like Joel Bitonio and Kevin Zeitler are still available, too. Then there’s the draft -- Schoen could always wait until April to bring in a stud prospect to man the line for the next decade-plus and become a fixture in the “must protect Dart at all costs” plan moving forward.
They really don’t need to overthink this... like, at all.
They’ve already lived through what happens when a young signal-caller gets pummeled into a $160 million regret behind a shaky offensive line. Dart doesn’t need to go anywhere near that. If they can avoid the worst-case scenario, things could look up for the 22-year-old franchise quarterback on the rise.