The New York Giants don’t have a ton going for them at a record of 2-6 entering a Week 9 matchup with the San Francisco 49ers, but they do have one massive positive to hang their hat on, and that’s the play of rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart.
Dart has looked the part over his first 5 starts, and the NFL appears to agree that his performance has been notable, considering the latest Giants news.
“New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart and Baltimore Ravens linebacker Teddye Buchanan are the NFL Rookies of the Month for October (Weeks 5-8),” the NFL announced on October 30, sharing a press release on the decision.
The Giants’ official X account also posted about Dart’s latest achievement, commenting: “HIM 🎯.”
Per the NFL, “Dart led all rookies with 1,014 total yards (873 passing, 141 rushing), 10 total touchdowns (seven passing, three rushing) and had a 90.0 passer rating during October.”
“He was the only rookie and one of four quarterbacks, along with Jalen Hurts, Daniel Jones and Patrick Mahomes, to record at least two touchdowns in four games this month,” the press release continued. “Dart became just the second rookie quarterback (Tim Tebow) in NFL history to record at least one passing and one rushing touchdown in three straight games (Weeks 6, 7 and 8).”
Dart is also the first Giants player to win a rookie of the month award since former wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Lastly, no Big Blue quarterback has ever earned a rookie of the month honor before Dart, making this a historic achievement for both Dart and the organization.
Giants QB Jaxson Dart Is Doing a Lot With a Little Amid Rookie of the Month News
The most exciting part about Dart as a quarterback prospect is that he’s showing signs of success without much help.
Dart obviously lost his top wide receiver and playmaker in Malik Nabers. On top of that, he just lost arguably his second-best playmaker in rookie running back Cam Skattebo. And the Giants have done very little to replace Nabers at wide receiver.
Diving deeper, the Giants’ offensive line isn’t exactly anything to write home about either. Andrew Thomas is a top-tier left tackle when healthy, and it helps that he has been healthy since Dart has taken over under center. But the rest of the group is average at best.
Despite all this, Dart has looked good enough to earn him this rookie of the month honor, outplaying No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward, among others. In fact, according to Patton Analytics, Dart is currently “creating” plays at an elite rate of roughly 22% on passing snaps “outside the pocket.”
That is the highest of any current NFL starter in 2025. Although Dart’s “expected points added per dropback” on these plays is still lower than that of Mahomes and Sam Darnold.
Can Dart Save Brian Daboll’s Job at the End of the 2025 Season?
Assuming the Giants don’t go on some sort of wild run to get back into the playoff conversation, the big question heading into the offseason will be: Should John Mara fire general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll?
He could choose to fire both and clean house, or fire one but not the other. And, of course, he could choose to keep both as he did in 2025.
Frankly, there’s only one reason to keep Daboll if he musters up another losing season, and that’s Dart. If the Giants feel Dart’s best chance at development is to stick with Daboll and master his system, the case can easily be made that retaining the current NYG HC is important.
On the flip side, if they feel Dart is performing in spite of Daboll, perhaps it would be smarter to move on and maximize his potential under a new staff.
Either way, it feels like Daboll’s only shot at surviving the 2025 campaign is Dart. Is that enough?
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