Why Giants' Jaxson Dart Will Have a Chip on His Shoulder While Playing the Saints

The rookie makes his second career start against New Orleans this weekend.

Giants QB Jaxson Dart will get the second start of his career on Sunday against the Saints. / Yannick Peterhans / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jaxson Dart's NFL debut went splendidly. The Ole Miss product didn't light up the stat sheet while throwing for 111 yards and adding another 54 on the ground, but he did find the end zone twice in a much-needed Giants victory. He'll get another crack at laying groundwork for the future Sunday against the Saints with one eye on the past.

The rookie QB was asked to weigh in on the matchup against New Orleans, one of the teams that passed on him in last April's draft

"There is always a chip on your shoulder any time something like that happens," Dart said. "But yeah, I'm just going to go out there and play as hard as I can.

"Yeah, I felt like my visit with them went good," he added. "You kind of have thoughts in your head about what options are realistic, and I felt that was a place that could've panned out. But things didn't work out that way."

That they did, and the early returns suggest Giants fans should be thankful.

Instead of selecting Dart, the Saints opted to see what Spencer Rattler could do with more opportunity and used their pick on offensive lineman Kelvin Banks Jr., and grabbed quarterback Tyler Shough later in the second round. The NFL is not a zero-sum game so it's entirely possible things work out reasonably well for both teams. Or not so great for either.

One game in early October isn't going to be enough for a verdict. But it is a golden opportunity for Dart to channel some extra motivation and potentially prove a point.

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