What if the player everyone expected to sit on the bench and soak in the playbook suddenly becomes the team’s most exciting player? That’s New York Giants’ rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart. We spoke to ESPN’s draft analyst Matt Miller in an EssentiallySports Exclusive Interview to ask which rookie has made the biggest splash in Miller’s eyes. The first name that popped up in Miller’s mind was Dart. 

“I mentioned Jaxson Dart. He’s playing exceptionally well. And to be thrown in, the expectation was that Russell Wilson would be the starter. You think that he’s going to come in and be a guy that sits for a year and kind of learns, and that was not the case with him. He was thrown out there after a couple weeks. He’s played exceptionally well.”

Dart’s rise has been nothing short of meteoric. If you just talk numbers alone, he’s sparked a Giants offense with the consistency that was missing from Russell Wilson’s plays. Before the Week 9 matchup, Dart’s already thrown for 984 yards, brought 8 touchdowns against just three picks. He’s also contributed to the ground game, rushing for 195 yards and four scores. But his impact in NY is much deeper than the numbers he puts on the board. 

Jaxson Dart’s electric, moving with a kind of swagger that has the Giants believe they’ve got their franchise quarterback. Pressers, huddles, locker room, or even the sidelines on game days, you can see a star taking ownership and responsibility to the next level. His 61.4 QBR ranks him 14th among the league’s elite signal callers, and that’s no mean feat either.

In our EssentiallySports Exclusive Interview, Matt Miller also mentioned others from the talented 2025 draft class that are making some noise aside from Dart. Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillian has become a go-to target for the Carolina Panthers. Tight end Tyler Warren has already established himself as a reliable security blanket and target for the Indianapolis Colts. Miller’s verdict on the entire draft class?

“There’ve been very few exceptions to that right now where guys are maybe not playing up to the draft stock.”

But here’s the thing. These rookies are dominating the conversation around the league right now. What we need to see is whether these are just flashes in the pan or remain consistent through the coming seasons. Miller only had words of praise for this year’s rookie draft class. But he also noted that there is one star from two years ago who has rather disappointed everyone: Houston Texans quarterback CJ Stroud.

Has CJ Stroud’s fire petered out?

When the draft class talk intensified with Matt Miller, ES host Andrew Whitelaw asked a deeper question: “How do you go about evaluating players in-season versus what you’re seeing right now against what you saw on their college tape?” Miller advised caution against rushing to opinions, and then shared a grim verdict on CJ Stroud. 

“I think the NFL is such a transition that you try not to overreact, especially early. I think we all want to rush to judgment with players sometimes. CJ Stroud is an example I use a lot. CJ had a great rookie season. Looked like he was going to be a top-five quarterback in the NFL. Sophomore year, they still made the playoffs. He had a successful season, but his numbers over the last year and a half have not matched what he did as a rookie.”  

Stroud’s first-round pick in 2023 came with all the hype of a generational quarterback. He played like one, too. In his rookie year, Stroud posted 4,108 yards for 23 touchdowns and just five picks, while also adding three more scores with his ground game. He did take 38 sacks in the process, but you could chalk that up to a rookie year and a struggling O-line. Last season? The numbers got shaken up. 20 TDs against 12 picks, and a whopping 52 sacks. The ground game had also disappeared. 

This season, ahead of Week 9, Stroud has posted 1,623 yards for 11 touchdowns. But he’s already thrown 5 picks and taken 15 sacks. The ground game that became invisible last season? Still nowhere to be seen. Miller’s overall verdict in these kinds of scenarios? As he put it: 

“I think my biggest thing is patience. To not pat yourself on the back too quickly when you feel like you were right about a player. But also not to get too discouraged when a player doesn’t meet those expectations early. So for rookies, a lot of the time I just want to see: is the game too fast, is the game too big?” 

While Jaxson Dart is blazing a new path for himself, will the dimes continue with the exhilarating energy and swagger? We need to wait and watch what happens beyond this season. For CJ Stroud, the challenge is to reignite his rookie year spark and prove he was worth all the hype. When the season ends, we’ll have our answers. 

For more exclusive interviews like this, visit and subscribe to our ES Exclusives YouTube channel.