The New York Giants made wholesale changes at quarterback this offseason, but not everyone is convinced that the upgrades will make the impact general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll need them to.
Even before trading up to select Jaxson Dart with the No. 25 overall pick, the Giants first signed Jameis Winston contract to a two-year contract worth $8 million, presumably as a veteran bridge to a rookie, only to turn around and ink Russell Wilson to a one-year pact worth $10.5 million, creating a veteran quarterback room stretched to the brim with big personalities.
“I can’t imagine they’ll handle it well,” a rival NFC personnel executive told me, of how he thinks Daboll and the coaching staff will be able to manage all of those big personalities thrown together. “It’s … a lot.”
Wilson is the odds-on favorite to win the starting job out of training camp later this summer. But at age 36, the 14-year veteran is coming off a wildly inconsistent season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He passed for 2,482 yards with 16 touchdowns and five interceptions over the final 11 games, before Pittsburgh’s season ended in a blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Wild Card Round.
Meanwhile, Winston is effectively now little more than a veteran backup, and in a lot of ways redundant to Wilson’s presence following Dart’s arrival in the NFL Draft.
@mattlombardonfl Trying to make some sense of the Giants’ QB situation, and why they may have been so motivated to trade up for Jaxson Dart. #Giants #NYGiants #NFL #NFLDraft ♬ original sound – MattLombardoNFL
https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js
But, while Dart’s development should take precedence for the Giants’ long-term path back to competing for championships, Schoen and Daboll have an edict to win now in order to save their jobs and be allowed the opportunity to help build around and develop their rookie signal caller beyond this season.
“The Giants needed a veteran,” an AFC Scouting Director told me, of Wilson’s fit in New York. “That general manager and head coach can’t afford a rookie.
“He fits what they do fine, and could maybe be a solid player for them.”
Schoen, Daboll, and the Giants are going to need Wilson to be more than solid, both to avoid the temptation to rush Dart and to climb the ladder in a hyper-competitive NFC East.
Did New York Giants Do Enough to Fix Biggest Weakness?
Emilee Chinn/GettyWhether Russell Wilson can win enough games for the Giants to keep GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll beyond this season is a top storyline to watch.
There’s no question that Wilson, Schoen, and Daboll will be under the microscope this season. Likewise, at the first sign of the offense’s still the clock will inevitably start ticking towards the Giants getting Dart on the field.
Schoen and Daboll’s futures might depend on pushing off the franchise’s because New York is winning enough games to be in the mix, but that’s anything but assured, despite revamping the quarterback room.
Over at Pro Football Focus, analysts Dalton Wasserman and Max Chadwick ranked every roster across the NFL, pointing out each team’s biggest strengths and weaknesses from the 2024 campaign. They list the Giants with the No. 27 ranked roster, entering the 2025 season, while listing quarterback as the biggest weakness from last year’s squad.
“The Giants’ passing game simply couldn’t function consistently in 2024 with Daniel Jones, Drew Lock, Tommy Devito and Tim Boyle throwing passes,” Wasserman and Chadwick write for PFF. “The team ranked 30th in the NFL in PFF passing grade while accumulating just 15 big-time throws and 24 turnover-worthy plays. Luckily, they’ve overhauled their quarterback room by adding veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, along with first-round pick Jaxson Dart, who led the FBS with a 91.9 PFF passing grade in 2024.”
Whether New York’s upgrades at quarterback wind up paying off could completely shape the trajectory of the Giants’ future.
‘They’ve Been Great’ Jaxson Dart Lauds Giants’ Veteran Quarterbacks
Adam Hunger | GettyNew York Giants head coach Brian Daboll has much invested in the present and future in rookie QB Jaxson Dart.
Given that Wilson will turn 37 during the upcoming season, in the grand scheme of the franchise’s future, beyond winning in 2025, the Super Bowl champion’s most important role might be getting Dart up to speed.
During their first interactions, Dart says he couldn’t be more impressed by Wilson, Winston, and their approach to what has the potential to be a bit of an unorthodox quarterback situation.
“Golly, yeah, they’ve been great,” Dart told reporters during Giants rookie minicamp. “They were some of the first people to text me when I got drafted. And I thought that was just super cool. Those are those are guys that I’ve looked up to for such a long time. I’ve said this before, I remember I was wearing Russell’s jersey with the Seahawks when he won a Super Bowl. So, like I said, these guys have been people who I’ve really looked up to. And I hold them in the highest regard.
“So, I think for me, being in this situation, being able to be a sponge and soak in all the information that I can, will help elevate me. And then at the same time, I just want to compete and make everybody else better in the room as well.”
Dart opens this spring as a clear No. 3 quarterback on the Giants’ depth chart, but how long he stays there likely hinges on Wilson’s play and how quickly the former Ole Miss standout both grasps the playbook and proves he’s capable of elevating the offense.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Giants Get Major Wake-Up Call After Offseason Transformation appeared first on Heavy Sports.