The New York Giants got their possible quarterback of the future by trading their way back into the first round.
Mississippi’s Jaxson Dart was selected with the No. 25 overall pick Thursday night — a few hours after New York bolstered its defense by taking Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter at No. 3 and general manager Joe Schoen slyly said “we'll see” when asked if the Giants were done picking for the night.
Turns out, they were far from it.
New York acquired the 25th pick from Houston to take Dart and sent the Texans its second-round pick (No. 34), a third-round pick (No. 99) and a third-rounder in next year's draft.
“We’re fired up to have Jaxson Dart as part of the organization,” Schoen said, “and look forward to working with him.”
The Giants signed veterans Russell Wilson — who’s expected to be the starter this upcoming season — and Jameis Winston last month as free agents and still have fan favorite Tommy DeVito, but they lacked a possible long-term answer at quarterback.
So the Giants made a draft day trade to get one — and from Ole Miss — as they did in 2004, when they acquired Eli Manning from the Chargers who took him No. 1 overall. Manning eventually led the franchise to two Super Bowl victories, and the Giants can only hope this move works out nearly as well.
But with Wilson and Winston already in New York, Dart won’t have to be rushed onto the field — at least not this season.
“This is just where my journey starts,” Dart said during a video call. "I’m stepping into an amazing room with a Super Bowl-winning quarterback who can see it from a different lens at such an elite level. I can’t wait to go learn from him, go learn from all the other guys in Tommy and Jameis in the room and then just the team as a whole.
“I feel like it’s just a bunch of great competitors who really see it the same way, and I can’t wait to go out there and compete and do all that I can to make the team better.”
Dart was the second QB selected in this year's draft after Cam Ward went No. 1 overall to Tennessee.
Colorado's Shedeur Sanders was once considered a possibility to be taken by the Giants, even with the third overall pick. But New York passed on Sanders twice, and the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders wasn't drafted in the first round.
Dart, a 6-foot-2, 223-pound Utah native, improved his draft positioning with an outstanding senior season at Mississippi. A first-team All-SEC selection, Dart ranked third in the FBS with 4,279 yards passing and was the Gator Bowl MVP in the Rebels’ victory over Duke after throwing for 404 yards and four TDs.
Dart played his first college season at Southern California, but transferred to Mississippi after his freshman year. In three seasons playing under Lane Kiffin, he set the school records for yards passing with 10,617 and total offense with 12,115.
“He’s got a lot of qualities you look for in a good quarterback,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said. "He’s tough, makes good decisions with the football, pushes the ball down the field, has athletic ability, played in a really tough conference, started there at USC as a young guy.
“But did a really good job throughout this process of our meetings, board work, workouts and the tape that we liked.”
Dart has been on NFL scouts’ radars since he was the national Gatorade Football Player of the Year during his senior year at Corner Canyon High School — where 2021 No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson also once played — after throwing for 4,691 yards and a Utah state-record 67 TD and only four interceptions.
He said there's “no doubt” he fits in with the spotlight of playing in the Big Apple.
“As a competitor, you want to play on the biggest stages,” Dart said. "You want to play in front of the most passionate fans, most world-renowned program and organization. That’s just kind of what I wanted to be a part of. I felt like my process of getting to this moment, I just feel like I’m built for it.
“I’m really excited to go after it with everything that I’ve got.”
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Dennis Waszak Jr., The Associated Press
