With rookie minicamp, OTAs, and mandatory minicamp in the rearview mirror, the Giants will now get ready for training camp starting next month — the closest thing to the real deal before preseason and ultimately the regular season.
First-round draft pick QB Jaxson Dart made sure to soak up as much information as he possibly could during his first experience practicing in the NFL and plans to “dive into it a lot more” in the weeks leading up to New York’s first training camp practice tentatively scheduled for July 23.
So far, Dart has already looked the part of a professional football player, doing and saying all the right things after the Giants threw a lot at the 22-year-old in their first go-around to see what he absorbed and what he can handle.
“I feel like I’ve made tremendous strides, especially from my first day to now, just being able to understand the pictures of the offense and whatnot,” Dart told the media after Wednesday’s practice. “Obviously, I have to dive into it a lot more but I’m definitely just trying to take it to the next level over the summer. Really just lock in, hone in on as much as I can throughout this time, so that way when I get back for training camp, I’m on an even better level than I am now.”
Dart’s passion and love for the game is apparent. Despite three other quarterbacks in the QB room in a season that Dart is not expected to see a lot of playing time (using that time, instead, to learn and grow from the sidelines), it’s clear that he still wants to be the best player he can be and make an impact on the team.
While that may seem obvious for anybody in his position, it’s not always the case, especially for a young player not being counted on to start right away. In fact, if you ask Dart, he’ll tell you that nothing else matters more than becoming a pro and that the goals he has for himself are lofty.
“Quite honestly, this is like the most important thing to me,” he said. “So being able to come to work every single day, I just love it. I love being around the facility. I feel like a lot of times I try to be the last one to leave here and I want to put as much as I can into this. I have a vision and a goal for myself and that goes far beyond just starting here and being in the NFL. I know that for me to do that I’m going to have to put in all that I can.”
It’s the attitude that the Giants love to hear from what they hope to be is their next franchise quarterback as they try to reverse course from a disappointing era that has seen them finish with a losing record in seven of their last eight seasons.
With holes still on the roster that trend might be hard to break this season, but after a savvy draft and a few smart offseason signings, New York appears to be headed in the right direction.
Speaking of, there to usher in Dart and the new generation of the Giants is Russell Wilson whom New York signed to a one-year, $10.5 million contract in March. Big Blue also signed another veteran QB in Jameis Winston in the offseason to bolster what had been a big weakness for them in the past — the quarterback position.
With Wilson, Winston and Tommy DeVito, Dart has three different players he can lean on to learn what it takes to become a professional quarterback in the NFL — something he’s taken full advantage of.
“It’s been great. They’ve been so supportive of me and I pick up as much as I can off of them and how their habits are,” Dart said. “It’s great to just sit in the meetings and hear them talk and go over things. I’m blessed to be in a room with those guys, and I feel like there’s so much I could take away from them and really excited for the room that we have.”
He continued: “I got three great guys to talk to and ask for advice from. So, I’m constantly searching for that. I don’t have any pride about myself going over to ask questions and I know that I definitely don’t know everything, so I definitely want to pick those guys’ brains because they’ve done it at the highest level and even won a Super Bowl.”
As for his own plan that the Giants have for him, Dart feels comfortable being in the hands of head coach Brian Daboll who came to New York from the Buffalo Bills as the offensive coordinator where he’s credited, in part, for developing another first-round quarterback in Josh Allen.
That’s a pretty good predecessor for Dart if he wants to be more than just another player in the NFL.
“I just trust them,” he said. “They’ve had this blueprint and they’ve done it with different quarterbacks and you’ve seen them succeed at the highest level, so I trust them. For me, I’m just trying to be the most coachable player that I can.
“I want to play well on the offense. I want to be able to manage it and operate it at the highest level. I know that they definitely do have a plan. I’m just trying to take it day by day and I’m not looking for results immediately. I’m a process driven person, so I’m just taking it day by day, rep by rep.”
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