Anthony Rivardo
Jaxson Dart accounted for 24 total touchdowns in his rookie season without a true No. 1 receiver. That number is the foundation everything the Giants did this offseason is built on, and it is the reason John Harbaugh left other openings to coach him.
The franchise spent the spring stacking weapons, installing a new system, and handing the keys to a 22-year-old who started the previous September as a backup. Now the harder part begins: turning a promising rookie flash into a sustainable Year 2 jump.
What Dart actually did as a rookie
Dart took over in Week 4 of 2025 after an 0-3 start and never gave the job back, completing 63.7% of his passes for 2,272 yards with a 15-to-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio. But the rushing production is what separated him.
Dart ran for 487 yards and nine scores, the most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in a single season in Giants history and the third-most by a rookie quarterback ever, trailing only Cam Newton and Billy Kilmer.
| Stat | 2025 rookie season |
|---|---|
| Completion percentage | 63.7% |
| Passing yards | 2,272 |
| Passing TD / INT | 15 / 5 |
| Rushing yards | 487 |
| Rushing TD | 9 |
| Total touchdowns | 24 |
He won four of his starts on a roster that finished well under .500, so the surface results were modest. The dual-threat profile underneath them, drafted 25th overall out of Ole Miss after a 91.9 PFF passing grade that ranked first nationally in his final college season, is why the Giants believe the arrow points up.
The supporting cast the Giants built around him
Joe Schoen’s front office spent the offseason giving Dart the help he never had as a rookie. The Giants added tight end Isaiah Likely on a three-year, $40 million deal, signed receivers Darnell Mooney and Calvin Austin III in free agency, brought in JuJu Smith-Schuster and Odell Beckham Jr. as veteran depth, and used a third-round pick on rookie Malachi Fields. The headliner remains Malik Nabers, though his availability is the offense’s biggest open question after a second knee procedure left his Week 1 status uncertain, per ESPN.
Harbaugh’s framework asks Dart to lean on that depth rather than carry the offense by himself. The new head coach has been blunt that he wants a “physical, violent” team that controls games on the ground, the Ravens template he ran for 18 seasons, which should take pressure off a young passer and put a premium on Dart’s legs.
The Harbaugh adjustment, and the caution flag
Harbaugh has not handed out blank praise, and that is the part worth watching. He called Dart’s adjustment to the new offense a “work in progress” this spring and noted the quarterback occasionally looked indecisive in the pocket, the same trait scouts flagged before the draft. Dart, for his part, has described the system as “versatile” and embraced the physical identity Harbaugh is selling.
Some early friction is expected when a second-year passer learns a brand-new scheme under a brand-new staff. The questions that follow Dart into camp are concrete: processing speed against NFL coverages, ball security as a runner who took a beating in 2025, and whether the chemistry holds if Nabers opens the year on the sideline.
Why this season rides on his shoulders
The Giants reshaped the roster, the coaching staff, and the offensive identity around the bet that Dart is a franchise quarterback rather than a rookie-year mirage. The weapons are upgraded, the scheme fits his skill set, and the front office has spent like it believes in him. What is left is the one variable money cannot buy. If Dart’s Year 2 leap is real, the Giants have their first long-term answer at the position since Eli Manning. If it stalls, the entire rebuild waits another year for proof.
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