Former Giants RB Rashad Jennings Gives His Thoughts on Giants' Quarterback Situation

Rashad Jennings believes patience is necessary when it comes to rookie Jaxson Dart.

Former New York Giants running back Rashad Jennings speaks on radio row at the Super Bowl LI media center at the George R. Brown Convention Center. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

A small segment of people believe the New York Giants should accelerate the acclimation of rookie first-round draft pick Jaxson Dart at quarterback so that he’s ready to start by Week 1 of the coming season.

Former Giants running back Rashad Jennings is not one of those people. During a guest spot on Good Morning Football, Jennings said the Giants’ quarterback situation doesn’t need to be overanalyzed, given where the franchise and the individual players are.  

Mr. Unlimited - DangeRUSS - The Vet @RashadJennings has no doubt of who should be the QB1 for the #NYGiants pic.twitter.com/ODOyfns44n

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“Mr. Unlimited (Russell Wilson) himself has to start,” Jennings said. “And it's because it's written on the wall for it.”

Jennings, who closed out his seven-year NFL career with three seasons for the Giants (2014-16), echoed those who believe Dart should sit this coming season.

“You bring in Jaxson Dart. You drafted him in the first round. Okay? You want to develop him. You want to develop him so much that you actually have somebody there for him,” Jennings said. 

“Jameis Winston--he is the morale of the locker room. He is the positive energy. He is the voice, the veteran that teaches these guys how to become pros. While who is doing the work? That is Russell Wilson collaborating with the one of the greatest receivers (Malik Nabers). … So I think you have to start with Russ.”

Jennings, who played on an offense that had Eli Manning as its quarterback, also noted that this is the approach the team took when Manning was first acquired via trade in 2004. The Giants' then-future franchise quarterback sat behind veteran signal-caller Kurt Warner for the first nine games, only getting a couple of mop-up appearances in blowout losses. Jennings is  

Once Manning showed he was ready to handle the NFL, doing so behind the scenes, he was named the starter for the last seven games of the 2004 season, and the Giants didn’t look back.

Manning went on to play 16 years, during which time he led the franchise to two Super Bowl championships.

Dart, meanwhile, is hoping to take a similar path. But it will start with him getting as many reps as possible during the spring and summer. He could even see some significant preseason action so he can start getting a feel for the speed of the NFL level, which is so commonly a major adjustment for most rookies.

In the interim, Wilson was brought on due in part to his ability to win games and his veteran leadership. Winston, as a backup who is also capable of winning games, brings with him the experiences of being a former first-round draft pick who saw his once-promising career as a regular NFL starting quarterback fall by the wayside. 

So perhaps the hope there is for him to work with Dart to help him avoid any of the pitfalls Winston experienced on his NFL journey.  

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