Every first NFL start comes with its own set of circumstances.
Although it’s now the norm for first-round quarterbacks to play as rookies, not all of them spend the summer atop their team’s depth chart or begin the season as the starter.
That’s important to keep in mind as the Giants‘ Jaxson Dart makes his first career start on Sunday afternoon against the Chargers at MetLife Stadium.
Dart, the No. 25 overall pick in April’s draft, took some first-team reps during training camp and played multiple snaps with the starters in the preseason. But he largely served as the Giants’ second-string quarterback behind Russell Wilson, whom he now replaces.
This week marks Dart’s first set of practices operating as the Giants’ starter.
It’s a much different set up than what Joe Burrow or Caleb Williams received when they were drafted to be their teams’ immediate No. 1 quarterback.
And while Dart, 22, appeared in the Giants’ last two games, totaling six snaps as a read-option specialist, he is yet to throw a pass.
“We put him in the game for the last two weeks, so we wouldn’t put anybody in the game we don’t feel confident with,” head coach Brian Daboll said Monday, before any decisions about a quarterback change had been made.
With all of that context, it’s fair to wonder what to expect from Dart on Sunday.
Since 2021, 10 of the 16 first-round quarterbacks started in Week 1, including the Titans’ Cam Ward this year.
Four of the others made their first start by Week 6 in situations perhaps more akin to Dart’s.
Those four — Justin Fields, Trey Lance, Kenny Pickett and Drake Maye — went a combined 0-4 in their first starts, with their performances ranging from ugly to promising.
In Week 3 of the 2021 season, Fields went 6-of-20 for 68 yards and took nine sacks in a 26-6 loss by his Bears.
Two weeks later, Lance finished 15-of-29 for 192 yards and an interception in a 17-10 loss by his 49ers, though he added 89 rushing yards on 16 carries.
In Week 4 of 2022, Pickett completed 34-of-52 attempts for 327 yards and an interception, and his Steelers lost, 38-3.
The only quarterback from that group to throw a touchdown pass in his first start was the Patriots’ Maye. In Week 6 of last year, he went 20-of-33 for 243 yards and three scores with two interceptions in a 41-21 loss.
Unlike Dart, all four of those quarterbacks had thrown passes before their first start, either in garbage time or as an injury replacement.
Among that group, only Maye remains with his original team. Only Maye and Fields, now of the Jets, are current starters.
Of course, plenty of first-round quarterbacks who didn’t start in Week 1 went on to have solid rookie seasons and even better careers.
Justin Herbert, who will be opposite Dart on Sunday, passed for 311 yards and a touchdown in his debut in Week 2 of 2020, but his Chargers lost in overtime that day to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
Herbert would lose each of his first four starts and finished 6-9 as a rookie, but he passed for 4,336 yards with 31 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
The Bills’ Josh Allen also didn’t begin his rookie year as a starter, but he entered in the second half of Week 1 in 2018 and never relinquished the job.
Allen lost his first start, passing for 245 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, but he won the next one, throwing for a touchdown and rushing for two more. He went 5-6 as a rookie, then 10-6 the following season and 13-3 after that.
Of course, Daboll was the Bills’ offensive coordinator back then, while Giants general manager Joe Schoen was Buffalo’s assistant GM.
That same season, Lamar Jackson didn’t make his first start until Week 11, though the Ravens had frequently incorporated the dual-threat dynamo in different packages before then.
Jackson passed for 150 yards and rushed for 119 more to win his first NFL start. He went 6-1 as a rookie and finished that year with 1,201 passing yards, 695 rushing yards and 11 total touchdowns.
The last first-round rookie to start a game for the Giants was Daniel Jones, who passed for 336 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two more scores in a win over the Buccaneers as Eli Manning’s replacement.
Jones would win his second start, too, but finished 3-9 as a rookie.
And then there’s Mahomes, whose one-year apprenticeship behind Alex Smith in 2017 came at the end of an era of sitting quarterbacks.
Mahomes made his first start for the Chiefs in that season’s finale, passing for 284 yards with an interception in a win. The next year, Mahomes threw for 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns and won NFL MVP.
Still, going into the season as a starter doesn’t necessarily translate to immediate success, either.
Last year, Williams managed only 93 passing yards in his Week 1 debut, albeit in a Bears win.
That same week, Jayden Daniels passed for 184 yards and rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns, but his Commanders lost. Daniels finished 12-5 as a starter with 25 touchdown passes and 891 rushing yards.
Bo Nix totaled four interceptions without a touchdown pass in his first two games, and he didn’t throw his first TD until Week 4. He finished with 29 touchdown passes as a rookie and led the Broncos to the playoffs.
And this year, Ward went 12-of-28 for 112 yards and took six sacks in a Week 1 loss.
More often than not, rookie quarterbacks struggle in their first starts, especially when they’re thrown to the fire early.
We’ll find out Sunday if Dart is the exception.
“I’m confident in this group, and the coaches and players around us, to be able to be prepared for each and every week, and we’re gonna figure things out,” Dart said after the Giants fell to 0-3 with last Sunday’s 22-9 loss to the Chiefs.
“Whatever roles are for every guy on this team, we’re just gonna do our jobs to stay together and be as prepared as we can.”
