Jaxson Dart Reveals His Mindset Ahead of His Upcoming NFL Debut

New YorkGiants first-round pick Jaxson Dart is ready as he can be for his NFL debut in Saturday's preseason opener against the Bills.

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart will make his NFL debut against the Buffalo Bills in Saturday's preseason opener. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

There might be a few butterflies for New York Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart when he first sets foot between the white lines on Saturday against the Buffalo Bills. However, Dart is about as ready as can be, thanks to the progress he’s made in training camp and the advice he’s received from experienced players.

“I feel like I’ve grown a lot,” Dart said on Thursday. “My understanding of the game, my understanding of just this offense specifically, but I’ve been able to take big steps and I’m feeling more and more confident each and every day in this offense and kind of what they’re asking me to do. 

“I’m just happy to have that process of when I make mistakes, being able to fix it quickly, and I have great players around me, great leadership around me who helps develop me each and every day.”

Part of that development has come as a result of words of advice given to him by colleagues. For instance, he revealed that he had a conversation with Bills quarterback Josh Allen, whose career began in the very same offense run by the same coach (Brian Daboll) that Dart is now working to master.  

“I think the biggest thing as the quarterback – he talked a lot about leadership. That was kind of like his main thing and then trying to be the best teammate for the guys around you because as a quarterback, you have to raise the standards of everybody,” Dart said of what Allen shared with him. 

“Schematics, I think that what shows up on Coach Dabs’ record is being able to coach many different quarterbacks who have different skill sets and kind of molding offenses around what they’re good at, so kind of just hone in on the key details of Coach Dabs’ offense and trust it. 

“I think at times, maybe quarterbacks will predetermine things and not trust the system, but the special thing about Coach Dabs is he gives us a ton of freedom, so there are answers to everything that you can think of.”  

Keeping the advice in check

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) and New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito (15) are shown at practice. | Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Closer to home, Dart has been getting words of encouragement from his teammates about not only the Xs and Os but also the pressure of having a lot of eyes on him.

“I had a talk with him,” receiver Malik Nabers said. “I was like, at the end of the day, bro, like everybody says, it’s football. I assume everybody feels nervous, but there’s no higher than the NFL. It’s the highest you can get, so you already made it. The hard job is done. The hard part was getting here.”

The hard part for some is pressing too hard to avoid mistakes. While some players might play it cautiously, Dart said he doesn’t intend to be one of them.

“I’m not scared. When I go out there, I’m going to play the game that I know how to play, and the offense here, they don’t give me restrictions on what I can and can’t do,” he said. 

“I think if you’re going to play scared as a quarterback, you shouldn’t be out there.”

With so many people in his ear, Dart has somehow managed not to let his head spin and has stayed focused.

“Honestly, when you come into these games, you can hear a lot about the advice, but at the end of the day, it’s just football, so you've got to go out there and play your game, and the real good players are the ones who show up for it,” he said.

“The main point was that football is football. Obviously, you’re taking the next step, so it’s a little bit more advanced and just little details and schematics and whatnot,” he said. 

“At the end of the day, it’s the same game you were playing when you were a kid, so just enjoy that. Compete, don’t leave any regrets out there on the field, and don’t ever take this moment lightly, and no light’s too bright to play in.”

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