The New York Giants are hoping to form a young quarterback-receiver duo to build their offense around for the next several years to come. They traded up in this year’s draft to select Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart. When it’s his time to take on the starting gig, Dart will pair up with 2024 first-round wide receiver Malik Nabers. Dart’s former collegiate head coach believes this pairing could be something special.
Ole Miss HC Lane Kiffin thinks the Giants are forming a special QB-WR duo
In a recent interview with Steve Serby of The New York Post, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin shared that he envisions a bright, long future ahead for Dart and Nabers:
“I think he’ll work so hard from Day 1 with him, and he’ll fly to wherever he is in the offseason to work with him and get down their throws and timing and everything,” Kiffin told Serby. “They’ll be an amazing pair for a long time to come.”
Kiffin is widely regarded as one of the smartest offensive minds in all of college football. He helped Dart grow into the first-round talent that he became. Now Dart will learn from Giants HC Brian Daboll — a former AP Head Coach of the Year and another offensive mind widely-regarded as one of the very best at his level.
Dart could finally maximize Nabers’s potential
The addition of Dart could spark growth from Nabers and finally maximize one of the playmaker’s best abilities: his deep receiving. Nabers was considered the top deep-receiving threat in the 2024 rookie draft class, however, he barely put that skill on display as a rookie with the Giants.
In 2023, Nabers’s final collegiate season, he totaled 624 deep-receiving yards (third-most in the 2023 draft class) and nine touchdowns on 20+ yard targets. Nabers received 29 deep targets (second-most in the draft class), hauling in 19 of them, including 5/8 on contested catch targets. His 97.8 deep receiving grade ranked No. 1 among all wide receivers in the draft class, per Pro Football Focus.
As a rookie in 2024, Nabers received 29 targets 20+ yards downfield, but hauled in only seven receptions (only 24.1%) for 216 yards and two touchdowns. PFF credited him with a 96.8 Deep Receiving Grade, indicating that his lack of production on deep routes was caused by poor quarterback play more than anything.
Dart, meanwhile, graded out as the best deep-passing quarterback in the 2025 draft class. According to Pro Football Focus, 22.1% of Dart’s passes this season came on 20+ yard attempts. He went 37 of 88, completing 42.0% of those attempts with a 47.7% adjusted completion rate for 1,517 yards (which led the country), 17 touchdowns, and only four interceptions. PFF credited him with 25 Big Time Throws, which ranked fifth in the country and third in the draft class. PFF also credited him with only six Turnover Worthy Plays when throwing deep.
This could be a perfect marriage between a quarterback with elite deep-passing accuracy and a playmaker with elite deep-receiving capabilities. The Dart-Nabers connection could be a special one to watch for years to come, just as Kiffin envisions.
