Picture this: You’re a rookie quarterback, fresh out of college, and you’ve just been drafted by the New York Giants. The excitement is palpable. But then, you step into the quarterback room and realize you’re surrounded by seasoned pros—Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston. That’s the reality for Jaxson Dart, the Giants’ first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

After signing a couple of veteran QBs, the Giants were expected to pick a long-term signal caller. And when the opportunity knocked on the door of the Big Blue, they didn’t shy away from trading up and picked Dart with the 25th overall pick. But here’s the thing—Brian Daboll isn’t going to sugarcoat it. He’s already making it clear that Dart and the other rookies have a lot of learning to do if they want to make an impact.

“You know, these guys have a lot to learn. None of them have been out in an NFL practice,” Daboll noted as the Giants open rookie mini-camp. “There’s so much to learn. We’ll take it day by day. We’ll continue to give them information. There’ll be a lot of mistakes. We’ll improve on those mistakes. We’ll come out to the next practice, try to do a better job, and we’ll do that with all our guys.”

It’s the fourth year of the Big Blue under the leadership of Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen, but the Giants are still a rebuilding team. But coming out of the 2025 NFL draft, it’s safe to say they’re a better team than they were in the 2024 season. Why? Well, for that we’ve to take a look at the New York team’s this year’s draft class.

First things first, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. The Giants used their third overall pick to draft Penn State’s edge rusher, Abdul Carter. The best player in the draft? Absolutely. Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen’s gotta be loving the idea of pairing him with guys like Brian Burns, who had 71 tackles and 8.5 sacks last season, and Kayvon Thibodeaux, who added 5.5 sacks of his own. A pretty solid trio to wreak havoc on the opposition quarterback.

Besides, the Giants picked Darius Alexander at No. 65, whom many NFL scouts identified as an early day 2 prospect. The team will place Alexander alongside Dexter Lawrence, as these two are looking to complement the Giants’ defense alongside Carter. On the flip side, if we take a look at their backfield… well, it hasn’t changed much from last season.

However, adding a bruiser like Cam Skattebo gives the Giants’ backfield a nice little shake-up—he’s the kind of guy who can lower his shoulder and get those gritty yards. To make it more interesting, Tyrone Tracy Jr. looked solid in his rookie year, racking up 839 yards and five touchdowns, so if he takes another step forward this year? Cherry on the cake.

Then there’s the seventh-round pick, Thomas Fidone II, who worked out with tight ends coach Tim Kelly before the draft. The guy’s a former five-star recruit out of high school. Sure, he had injury scars in his collegiate career, but the Giants saw potential, and there you go. They scooped him up with the 219th pick.

At the end of the day, Brian Daboll knows these guys haven’t even been through an NFL practice yet. But let’s be real—looking at how this roster’s coming together, it’s pretty clear he and the Giants are gearing up to flip the script in 2025. However, the QB room is surely the one to watch out for, after they added Jaxson Dart.

How does Jaxson Dart fit in Brian Daboll’s QB room?

“I like the way he plays. I like his competitive fire. I like his accuracy. I like his ability to push the ball down the field, his athletic ability to run with the football.” Brian Daboll noted after shocking everyone and picking Jaxson Dart over Shedeur Sanders with the 25th overall pick. At the beginning of the offseason, the Giants’ QB room was… let’s just say, there wasn’t exactly a line of quarterbacks waiting at the door in New York.

There were some whispers about Aaron Rodgers maybe landing in New York, but yeah—that ship sailed. So the Giants went out and grabbed Jameis Winston on a two-year deal, clearly more of a backup move. Then, a few weeks later, Russell Wilson popped up after things ended in Pittsburgh. Suddenly, the Giants had a couple of vets in the room.

But let’s be honest—they’re still hunting for their guy. That’s where Jaxson Dart comes in, straight outta Ole Miss. So the big question: where does Dart fit in Brian Daboll’s QB room? At some time, Dart could be the Giants’ starting QB. But that day isn’t today, tomorrow, next week, or next month.

To make it obvious, Daboll and Co. have already made it clear that Wilson will start in the 2025 season with Winston as the assumed backup quarterback. And that means only one thing. Sure, Dart will fight for a starting role, but for the time being, the former Ole Miss QB will develop behind Wilson and Winston. “We traded up for him. We’re ecstatic to have him,” general manager Joe Schoen said of Dart.

“He’s got the makings of a good quarterback, and there’s a long way to go. There’s a developmental process that he’s going to have to go through. Again, these offenses are not easy to learn, and the execution has to be at a high level.” That said, as the Giants have started their rookie mini-camp on Friday, the first and foremost task for Dart would be to get comfortable with the scheme and the demands of being a pro QB. And once the second phase of the off-season training program begins, the guy could keep an eye on Wilson and Winston.