Say what you want about the 2025 New York Giants, but they clearly had a quarterback plan heading into the season.
Joe Schoen and company were fairly confident they would be selecting a quarterback high in the NFL draft, and made sure that they were prepared by building out a veteran-filled position room.
First, veteran quarterback Jameis Winston was brought in on a two-year, $8 million deal, ensuring a backup for both the 2026 and 2027 seasons.
Then, 36-year-old Russell Wilson was given a one-year, $10.5 million deal and promised the starting job.
Only once they had the infrastructure in place did they add Jaxson Dart with the 25th overall pick last April, and the rookie has only benefited by having veterans surrounding him in his first season in the pros.
Jaxson Dart Credits Jameis Winston and Russell Wilson for Successful Rookie Season
Dart was asked specifically what both Winston and Wilson had helped him with throughout his first season as the New York Giants starting quarterback.
“Geez, that’s a loaded question because there’s so much I can’t really just pinpoint just one thing,” Dart said via NorthJersey.com’s Art Stapleton.
“I mean, I spend so much time, like extra time, with them every single day, you know, whether it’s, you know, we’re watching our own cut-ups together.”
“You know, obviously you watch film by yourself when, you know, you go home or whatever, but we spend so much time, you know, as a room, as a group at the facility and you know, one thing that they’ve just been awesome with me is they’ve constantly been asking questions like, hey, you know, what more can we give you in this area or during the process of preparing for the game?”
“So I’ve just had, you know, an immense amount of respect towards them and you know, definitely blessed to have those guys as leaders and, you know, people who I really respect.”
The Giants certainly failed in several areas throughout the 2025 season, but what you can’t say is that they didn’t set up their young quarterback for success.
There are a lot of teams out there across the NFL that have failed their young quarterbacks, and could take a page from Big Blue’s playbook.
What NOT to Do When Drafting a Young QB
To find an example of quarterback mismanagement, look no further than the New York Giants’ crosstown rival and roommate at MetLife Stadium, the New York Jets.
The last time the Jets drafted a quarterback in the first round was in 2021, when they selected BYU quarterback Zach Wilson with the No. 2 overall pick.
Wilson had his fair share of personal struggles on the field, but he was thrown to the wolves early and started Week 1 of his rookie season with no veteran backup quarterback to help guide him.
His QB2 was Mike White, who had never taken a regular-season snap at that point in his career.
“In hindsight, it probably would’ve benefited [him] just to sit back and learn a little bit and watch a veteran and just kind of grow in this league — kind of in the backseat, watching,” offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said after the failed 2022 season.
“Get better in practice, get better through the scout team and all that. But that wasn’t the course that we went.”
The Jets likely wished they had used the Giants’ playbook to help Wilson develop as an NFL quarterback.
After the success of Dart’s rookie season, we’ll see if any other teams copy Big Blue’s plan throughout the 2026 offseason.
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