The Giants like what they’ve seen from rookie Jaxson Dart thus far, but they aren’t ready to hand him the keys to their QB room just yet.
Speaking to reporters at Wednesday’s training camp, GM Joe Schoen and HC Brian Daboll committed to Russell Wilson as the team’s starting quarterback to begin the year.
“[Dart] had a good spring,” Schoen said. “He was in early working hard, still learning the offense — but you saw leadership, arm talent, athleticism. He’s a rookie and he has a long way to go, but we have a good supporting cast to help so he’s in a good spot right now.”
“Russ is our starter,” Daboll added. “He’s a guy who has done it for a long time. He has a lot of experiences and he’s been in a number of systems — he’s been great in the room thus far, has shown tremendous leadership, and we have a very good relationship.”
Wilson signed with the team on a one-year deal this offseason and is coming off a campaign in which he led the Pittsburgh Steelers to a Wild Card round appearance.
With both Jameis Winston and Tommy DeVito also in the mix, Daboll wasn’t ready to commit to a specific QB2 behind the veteran on the depth chart at this point in camp.
Once the pads fully come on and players start getting themselves into some real-time competition between preseason and joint practices, he’ll have a better idea of who will take ahold of that spot.
While the initial expectation was that Dart would sit and learn his entire rookie campaign, Schoen didn’t exactly rule out the idea of him being that guy and eventually taking over down the stretch.
That decision, though, will remain up to Daboll and the rest of the coaching staff.
“Going through the process we have Mika Kafka on the coaching staff as our offensive coordinator, he was in Kansas City with Patrick Mahomes and I think he played one game at the end of the year his first season, so we’ve seen that,” Schoen said.
“Our plan in Buffalo was for Josh [Allen] to not play much his first year, then we’re getting blown out in our first game and he played most of the year — so I think there’s some real benefits from sitting and learning, but if the coaching staff at some point feels it’s right and he’s ready, then I’ll leave that up to them.”