Brian Daboll Shares Details on NY Giants’ Development Plan for Jaxson Dart

Not only is New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll sticking with Russell Wilson as his starting quarterback, but he’s also going to stick with rookie Jaxson Dart as QB2.

“He had a good camp. He had a good preseason,” Daboll said in confirming the decision. “Again, for young quarterbacks, you're going to see a variety of things when you first start playing that you need to learn from. Every kind of checkpoint we've had for him in his process, albeit only a couple of months with us, he's done a good job with.”

The Giants reportedly had a package of plays ready for Dart, the second of their two first-round picks in this year’s draft, and the one they traded up for to acquire with the 25th overall pick in the draft.

While Daboll didn’t go into details, Dart’s package of plays could have simply been tailored specifically to handling the offense in the event the score became too lopsided either way, which would have allowed the Giants to save wear and tear on Wilson while also giving Dart a chance to work against the quality of players he’ll one day be facing regularly.

Although Dart didn’t get a chance to play last week, Daboll praised the former Ole Miss signal caller for his preparation throughout the week.

“It's his first regular season game to be part of, so he's got to be ready,” Daboll said. “He's got to see the game through the quarterback's eyes on the sideline. He's got to be involved in the communication.

“Each day we're trying to groom him, and when he has to play, he'll be ready to play. As a young quarterback, you'll face many different challenges. There'll be ups and downs, but in terms of the process that we're doing with him, each day, he does a little bit better.”

Daboll, who has also been tight-lipped about the plan for Dart, shared a few more details about what they’ve been asking the rookie to do during the part of practice closed to the media.

“Yeah, he gets show (scout) team,” Daboll said. “We mix him in once in a while on the first unit, but he spends a lot of time going through the script and going through the plays and keeping guys after practice and working through an entire script and throwing live balls. That's just the plan we have for him.

“There's a lot of good learning examples from that. You try to play that like a game, the best you can, with your timing, rhythm, eye control, mechanics, and knowing when to take off and when not to.

“You treat those show team reps, if you will, like game reps. And then when you're standing behind the offense when they're going, he's taking game reps on every play, along with (quarterback) Jameis (Winston).

"And they're back there 10 yards going through the mechanics, motions, shifts, protection calls, re-identifications. They're playing the game, not with the 10 other guys, but they're playing it behind the huddle and taking advantage of every opportunity they can.”

Daboll, who also shared that Dart got a couple of first-team reps last week, has thus far resisted the urge to slap a timeline on when Dart will be officially considered ready to lead the offense. Ideally, the plan is for him to spend the season sitting behind Wilson and fellow veteran Jameis Winston as he continues his NFL indoctrination.

But in knowing that the QB2 is one snap away from being pressed into action, it certainly says a lot about how far Dart has come in inspiring the confidence of his head coach.

“He's a tireless worker, I'd say in the classroom and then outside too,” Daboll said. “He's going through tons of plays, both mentally and then physically throughout practice and after practice.

“We'll continue to work with him and do the things we need to do.”

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