Don’t be surprised if the Giants have a Jaxson Dart package in their Week 1 Washington game plan.
Don’t be shocked if Brian Daboll pulls the ripcord early in case of emergency if Russell Wilson’s offense falters to start the year.
Wilson has practiced most of the offseason as the unchallenged No. 1 quarterback with the rest of the offensive starters. When Malik Nabers has been on the field, Wilson has been the one throwing him the ball.
Wilson and Nabers even joined up to work on some throws after Tuesday’s practice in East Rutherford when Nabers was forced to continue sitting out of team periods due to a back injury — just to stay on the same page with their timing.
Still, Dart made enough recent progress to earn first-team snaps in the Giants’ second preseason game against the Jets.
And Daboll has continued to challenge the rookie with new opportunities and looks, all the way through Tuesday’s final padded preseason practice before Thursday’s exhibition finale against the New England Patriots.
The immediate takeaway is that Dart has continued to handle what the Giants are throwing at him, so they’ve continued to put more on his plate. The bigger picture is in focus, too, though:
The Giants aren’t simply developing the first-round pick out of Ole Miss. They are preparing him to be able to play early this regular season if or when he’s needed.
They are trying to test him enough in preseason practices and games so that he’ll be able to handle the real thing in September when called upon.
This is what teams do when they draft quarterbacks in the first round and the player shows early promise: They don’t wait too long, if at all, to put him on the field.
Why would they?
The new energy surrounding the Giants’ building and team is due primarily to the presence of the two first-round rookies: Dart and Abdul Carter.
If the Giants roll at Washington with Wilson in Week 1, and they still feel Dart isn’t ready for the show, there will be no reason to break the glass.
But if the offense sputters against the Commanders, the Giants fall in an early season hole and Dart is continuing to show his teammates his “it” factor with playmaking in practice, how could the team wait to start him at QB?
And if Dart’s energy and ability can galvanize the team — like he did with his mid-drive replacement of Wilson for a 30-yard screen pass to tight end Theo Johnson — won’t Daboll be prepared to deploy him strategically in Week 1 even if he’s not starting?
Joe Schoen and Daboll are walking on thin ice. Waiting until that ice melts before playing their potential trump card won’t do them any good. They’ll have to do it while Dart still has time to save them.
There is a big difference, of course, between the second-string defenders Dart has mostly faced this preseason and the starters he would encounter against Washington, Dallas, Kansas City and the Chargers if he played early.
Dart’s decision-making has been solid so far, though. Teammates are raving about his study habits and play recognition. And his mobility gives him an ace in the hole against pressure.
That doesn’t guarantee he’ll always escape, but it should make him more capable of protecting himself and even countering the defense’s aggressiveness when plays break down.
Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka also has been adept so far at putting Dart into favorable situations to exploit defenses and use his strengths. So there is promise in that duo’s ability to continue building chemistry and turning it into points in regular season games.
Wilson’s 80-yard catch-and-run bomb to undrafted rookie receiver Beaux Collins against the Jets last Saturday night was an exciting development in its own right, obviously. There is hope that it foreshadows similar explosiveness against the Commanders on Sept. 7.
Dart might want to get together with Nabers soon to do some throwing of their own, though. Because it feels like that’s one of the final steps for the rookie to get ready to play in the regular season.
Something that doesn’t appear very far off.
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