It took no time for Jaxson Dart to become one of the guys in the New York Giants’ quarterbacks room.
The first-round draft pick from Ole Miss is drawing rave reviews for his work on and off the football field — and his competitive approach and cool confidence have helped him easily get along with Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston and Tommy DeVito.
The four often have dinner together and hang out away from the facility. DeVito also dropped the news that practice videos aren’t all they watch together. The two also occasionally tune into “Love Island,” the popular Peacock reality dating series. “I can’t say we do it every night, but from time to time — if we get an off day,” a smiling DeVito said Wednesday after the Giants wrapped up minicamp. “Yeah, we watch it, we talk about it.”
Not only that, the two have tossed around the idea of someday being contestants. “Me and Jaxson might go on ‘Love Island,’” DeVito said. “We’ve talked about it. So, you really don’t know what’s about to happen.”
That could also be said of the Giants’ quarterback situation as they head into training camp.
Wilson is the certain starter, but the spots behind him on the depth chart are up for grabs, and Dart will be given every chance to earn that No. 2 role.
“They’ve had this blueprint, and they’ve done it with different quarterbacks — and you’ve seen them succeed at the highest level, so I trust them,” Dart said. “For me, I’m just trying to be the most coachable player that I can. I want to play well in the offense. I want to be able to manage it and operate it at the highest level. I know that they definitely do have a plan. I’m just trying to take it day by day, and I’m not looking for results immediately.
“I’m a process-driven person, so I’m just taking it day by day, rep by rep.”
Coach Brian Daboll and the Giants loved what they saw from Dart when they evaluated him before the draft. So much so that general manager Joe Schoen traded back into the first round to take the Utah native with the 25th overall pick.
Daboll has spoken about having a plan for Dart through the offseason and into training camp, and so far the rookie has done an “excellent” job, according to the coach.
“He’s fit right in with those guys,” Daboll said. “He’s smart, he’s aggressive with the football, which I like. And then the true test will be once we start and there’s live hitting and preseason games and things like that. But he’s progressed since he’s been here to where he is now. He’s made good improvement.”
Wilson has taken the majority of the snaps with the starters, but Dart has been in for a few plays with the starting offense, while primarily working with the second and third teams.
“It’s good to get him in with the ones,” Daboll said. “There’s usually a level of anxiety at times for young players when they get thrown into the mix. It’s not exactly planned in terms of, ‘He’s getting rep (No.) 3.’ Sometimes we’ll just say, ‘Get in there.’ Then he’s calling plays in front of veterans that have done it at a high level. I think that’s important.”
Dart, who broke Eli Manning’s school record for yards passing at Ole Miss, said he was “swimming” a bit during his first few days in the NFL. But he has enjoyed having a lot of information thrown at him to see how much — and how quickly — he can absorb.
“I feel like I’ve made tremendous strides, especially from my first day to now, just being able to understand the pictures of the offense and whatnot,” Dart said. “Obviously, I have to dive into a lot more, but I’m definitely just trying to take it to the next level over the summer. Really just lock in, hone in on as much as I can throughout this time, so that way when I get back for training camp, I’m on an even better level than I’m now.”
And he can always turn to Wilson, Winston or DeVito — during commercial breaks, of course.
“Any time that I see them after practices sitting in the meeting room, I try to just sit down and listen,” Dart said. “In the meeting rooms, trying to listen and then if I have questions on the field, I’ve got three great guys to talk to and ask for advice from. So, I’m constantly searching for that. I don’t have any pride about myself going over to ask questions and I know that I definitely don’t know everything.
“So I definitely want to pick those guys’ brains because they’ve done it at the highest level and even won a Super Bowl.”
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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