Does Jaxson Dart Need a Lot of Preseason Snaps to Hit the Ground Running?

Some new data suggests that might not need to be the case.

Jaxson Dart a quarterback with the NY Giants, is shown after practice at Quest Diagnostics Giants Training Center, East Rutherford, NJ, May 28, 2025. | Anne-Marie Caruso/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The assumption by many is that New York Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart will be heavily featured in the team’s upcoming three preseason games that begin in August, a step in the plan to get Dart acclimated to the speed of the NFL game and ensure his success for when he eventually takes over as the starting quarterback.

While only head coach Brian Daboll knows what he plans to do as far as the workload distribution for all the quarterbacks, the assumption that Dart needs to get a lot of preseason work this year to ensure future success might be something of a myth when one looks at quarterbacks who, since 2020, have led their respective teams to a conference championship.

The data, as researched by Jay Morison of Cincinnati Bengals On SI, shows that there isn’t necessarily a correlation between preseason work and a quarterback’s success rate.

Before diving into the data, it’s worth noting that the NFL didn’t reduce the preseason schedule to its current three-game slate until 2021, the first year of the 17-game regular season schedule. Thus, the numbers reflected might be slightly skewed, particularly for any quarterback who has been in the league for a longer period.

But some of the signal callers who have seen limited preseason action and have still gone on to have success include Jared Goff of the Rams and Lions (34), Jayden Daniels of the Commanders (28), Jalen Hurts of the Eagles (17), and Lamar Jackson of the Ravens (10).

While it is true that the speed of the game can’t be simulated in practice, what teams have done to help prepare their quarterbacks is to hold more joint practices, which, in a way, take the place of the fourth preseason game. 

The joint practices allow the quarterback to work against live competition, albeit in a protected environment, where they can still experience the speed of the game without concern for being knocked out.

Daboll has declined to outline his plan for Dart or any of the quarterbacks regarding preseason snaps. That said, he also owes it to himself and the rest of the team to ensure that Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston get enough work, especially with Wilson currently penciled in as the starter for Week 1.

Then again, since Wilson is not the long-term answer, perhaps it will make more sense if Daboll puts Dart to the test sooner than later after spending weeks personally overseeing the rookie’s transformation.

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