Ralph Vacchiano
NFL Reporter
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Brian Daboll had a plan and was going to stick with it. His young, talented quarterback wasn’t going to play early in the regular season. He wanted him to sit and watch and learn as much as he could.
And then, in the third quarter of the 2018 opener, Josh Allen took over as the Buffalo Bills quarterback. A few days later, the rookie was named the starter for Week 2.
Daboll was just the Bills offensive coordinator then, and Allen was sitting behind Nathan Peterman, not a 10-time Pro Bowler like Russell Wilson, but the lesson is a valuable one nonetheless. Right now, Daboll has no intention of playing Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart early in the season, so he can sit and watch and learn as much as possible.
But plans can always change, sometimes quickly.
“You know, you take a lot from your experiences,” Daboll said earlier this preseason. “Some [young quarterbacks weren’t] going to play and then a guy gets hurt or whatever it may be. We alter that daily. We talk about it every night. It’s a big priority for us.”
The plan to develop the 22-year-old Dart into the Giants’ next great franchise quarterback might be the biggest priority for Daboll and his staff. And the early returns on their project have been outstanding. Dart was electric in New York’s three preseason games, completing 68.1% of his passes (32 of 47) for 372 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. That’s a 113.08 passer rating. He also ran for 52 yards and a touchdown on six carries.
Jaxson Dart #6 of the New York Giants looks on during the national anthem prior to the NFL Preseason 2025 game against the New England Patriots at MetLife Stadium on August 21, 2025 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
Dart checked every box that talent evaluators look for in a quarterback. He showed patience and poise in the pocket. He backed up his obvious arm strength with accuracy. He made smart decisions. He wasn’t afraid to throw passes into tight windows. And he made plays with his legs.
He quickly won over his teammates, too.
“He’s got some moxie to him,” receiver Wan’Dale Robinson said. “A couple of the older receivers were talking (about how) this is going to be a pretty good quarterback once he knows exactly all the checks and knows everything going on.”
“Some of the throws he makes, you’re just like, ‘Damn,’” right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor added. “‘This is going to be a good kid.'”
But how soon? And how long can the Giants wait to find out? Those are the big questions that will loom as the anticipation over Dart builds. So far, Daboll has been unwavering. He confirmed Wilson was his starting quarterback the first day of training camp, and Wilson took almost all the first-team reps this summer. Dart did take most of the second-team snaps over veteran Jameis Winston, but the Giants remain steadfast that they’re in no rush to see him play for real.
“When you look at the process of developing the quarterback, seeing it from a different lens on the bench, I think, is critical,” Giants assistant GM Brandon Brown said. “Not being forced to be in the game and play and take those live reps before you’re ready for it. Having that lens of being at that bird’s-eye view with the [offensive coordinator], the quarterback coach, the head coach, that can tell you in real time, ‘This is what we’re doing,’ and ‘this was the right read, this is the secondary read,’ and learning on the fly versus being thrown in the bathwater before you’re ready.
“That whole total package is what sitting can allow you to really accomplish and get that comfort level.”
There’s proof that the patient approach works. Brown saw that when he was the pro scouting director in Philadelphia and Jalen Hurts spent the first 12 weeks of his rookie season sitting behind Carson Wentz. And Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka saw it first-hand too, when he was an assistant in Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes spent all but the last game of his rookie season watching Alex Smith.
Both of them looked polished and ready when they took over as full-time starters in Year 2. That’s what the Giants hope to do with Dart, with an eye on him taking over as the starter in 2026.
But that’s what the Bills wanted to do with Allen in 2018 before losing their resolve less than 34 minutes into the season. And the results weren’t immediately good. Allen struggled as a rookie, just like he struggled in his first preseason. But Dart hasn’t struggled this summer. In fact, he’s thrived, even amid a gauntlet of unexpected situations Daboll has thrown his way.
The latest test came last Thursday, in Dart’s first preseason start. There was an issue — possibly an intentional one — on the opening drive with the coach-to-quarterback communication system that forced Daboll to yell in a few plays from the sidelines. One, he said, was a play that “wasn’t on the opening part of the script”.
Dart didn’t flinch and threw a pass on the run that went for 50 yards.
Jaxson Dart #6 of the New York Giants celebrates a touchdown against the New England Patriots with Russell Wilson #3 during their NFL Preseason game at MetLife Stadium on August 21, 2025 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
Plays like those are why Daboll smiles and raves so much (for him) when talking about his prodigy, and why it’s not hard to envision him being tempted to make a switch, even though he has a capable, veteran quarterback ready to run his offense for the first time in his three seasons in New York. As good as Wilson is, if he struggles or if the losses mount early against one of the NFL’s toughest schedules — the Giants’ first six opponents include the Commanders, Cowboys, Chiefs, Chargers, Saints and Eagles — it might not make any sense for Daboll to delay the inevitable.
“I feel like whenever my number is called, I’m going to go out there and I am going to play my game and ball — that’s my mindset any time I touch the field,” Dart said. “Obviously, Russ is the starter and he’s going to be amazing. He’s had such a great camp and has played at an elite level. So, my job is just be the best teammate and be ready whenever it is.”
That would ideally be next season. But if things don’t go well for the Giants at the beginning of the season, the pressure will be on for the Dart era to begin a lot sooner than that.
Ralph Vacchiano is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He spent six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him on Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.
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