The New York Giants have one of the deeper and more intriguing quarterback rooms in the NFL, but coach Brian Daboll is firm in his stance that Russell Wilson is the team’s starter.
The Giants signed veteran Jameis Winston, selected Jaxson Dart in the first round and also have Tommy DeVito entering his third NFL season. But Wilson has continued to validate why Daboll put any quarterback controversy to rest by naming him the starter last week.
“He’s done this for a long time. He’s had a really good camp since he’s been here. And then the other three guys have done a great job too,” Daboll said. “I like our quarterback room. They’re working hard, they’re going out every day. They’re doing the things they need to do. It’s a good group to be around.”
Dart was selected with the 25th overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft out of Ole Miss, but is not yet ready to threaten Wilson, the 10-time Pro Bowl selection who signed a one-year, $10.5 million contract in March. Dart is still learning the ropes of the NFL as he goes through his first training camp.
“Much like all the rookies, first training camp, some good, some things to improve on, but he’s got the right mindset,” Daboll said. “He’s here real late. He works. It’s good to see him kind of finish a drive two days ago, throwing it where he needs to throw it, keep working with him.”
With three veterans along with Dart, one of the biggest challenges is splitting practice snaps. The Giants need to get Winston prepared as Wilson’s likely backup to begin the season, but Daboll also needs to develop Dart. That leads to situations like in Friday’s practice where Winston gave way to Dart during a late offensive drive.
“I think Kaf (Mike Kafka) and Shane (Bowen) have done a nice job of divvying up the reps the way we need to divvy them up,” Daboll said. “Sometimes they don’t even know when they’re going in or the offensive coaches don’t know when I’m switching them either.
“That was a situation there at the end where Jameis was taking a rack and I just threw Dart in there. Try to keep the coaches on their toes and the quarterbacks so they can practice numerous situations.”
Daboll isn’t committing to Winston as the primary backup just four days into training camp, but he did note the former No. 1 overall pick’s confidence in his arm and fearlessness in pushing the ball downfield.
Winston has thrown 111 career interceptions to go with 154 touchdowns, but is known for his ability to shake off mistakes. Daboll called it a “no fear mentality,” but also said the coaching staff continues to work on Winston’s footwork, timing and overall grasp of the offense.
Not all that much different than Dart, who Daboll will continue to be creative with in how he develops during camp.
“Whether it’s a situation or putting him in after a bad play or giving him a pressure that he might have not seen. You try to give him as much as you can give him so that each day you can learn from it,” Daboll said. “If there’s a good play that you have, you go ahead and give him positive reinforcement. And when there’s a play that maybe wasn’t executed the exact right way, you try to get another look at that sometime down the line and keep (tabs) on where they’re at.
“We do that with all the quarterbacks, but certainly with Jaxson.”