New York Giants OC Mike Kafka: QB Jaxson Dart is ‘Right on Schedule’

For the second time this century, the New York Giants are putting their future on the arm of a quarterback from Ole Miss. So far, so good for rookie Jaxson Dart in the eyes of his offensive coordinator.

“I’d say Jaxson is right on schedule from what we’d expect in terms of just understanding the offense, continuing to grow and learn every day,” Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka said on Wednesday, according to the Giants’ team website. “Every day we’re presenting him — not just him but all the quarterbacks — with different situations and some situations you’ve probably never seen before. Those have been good to build off of, whether it’s in two-minute, whether it’s a third-down situation or a certain blitz look that we’re getting.

“He’s able to kind of grow and learn from those examples, and now as he starts banking more and more looks, more and more reps — we do a lot of this throughout the walkthrough, as well, he can kind of see — now he’s starting to put the picture together a little bit better and cleaner for a rookie.”

Kafka also said that he’s looking for the rookie quarterback to “command the huddle” and be “decisive” in the preseason; New York opens its 2025 preseason on the road against the Buffalo Bills on Saturday.

Dart was listed as New York’s No. 3 quarterback behind Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston on the unofficial depth chart released by the Giants earlier this week. 

The Giants traded the No. 34 and 99 picks in the 2025 NFL Draft and their 2026 third-round pick to move up to pick No. 25 and select Dart, who, like two-time Giants Super Bowl champion Eli Manning before him, came out of Ole Miss. New York traded up for Dart after already selecting Penn State linebacker and 2024 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Abdul Carter with the No. 3 pick.

Last season, Dart totaled 4,279 passing yards, 29 passing touchdowns, six interceptions and a 180.7 passer rating, while completing 69.3% of his passes. Dart’s passing yard total, passer rating and completion percentage all led the SEC. He also rushed for 495 yards and three touchdowns. Dart spent the last three seasons of his collegiate career at Ole Miss (2022-24), preceded by one season at USC (2021).

Kafka is entering his fourth season as New York’s offensive coordinator under head coach Brian Daboll. Last season, the Giants were 31st in the NFL in points (16.1 per game) and 30th in total yards (294.8 per game) per game.

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