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Why isn't Jaxson Dart starting? Why Giants rookie isn't QB1 yet
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- Why isn't Jaxson Dart starting? Why Giants rookie isn't QB1 yet
New York Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart finally made his NFL regular-season debut in Week 2, but it wasn't in a start.
Why isn't Dart starting in New York, and where is his spot on the Giants ' quarterbacks depth chart ?
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Through two weeks, and ahead of Week 3, the Giants have continued to stick with veteran quarterback Russell Wilson as their starter. The 14-year vet was one of New York's biggest free agent signings from this past offseason, and he leads the NFL in passing yards through two weeks of regular-season action.
Meanwhile, Dart, the rookie quarterback whom the Giants traded back up into the first round to draft in April, has sat behind Wilson as his backup.
Despite Dart making his debut in last week's game against the Dallas Cowboys , the Giants have still been mum about any plans to have the rookie take over as their starter.
Here's why that may be the case:
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Why isn't Jaxson Dart starting?
The simplest answer to the question of why the rookie isn't starting is that the Giants don't believe he's ready yet.
Ever since the Kansas City Chiefs drafted Patrick Mahomes in the first round then sat him on the bench for nearly all of his rookie season in 2017, many teams have tried to emulate the same model. An extra year of learning and developing at the pro level seemed to turn out well for Mahomes, so perhaps the same is necessary for other young talents.
The Green Bay Packers are another team that have employed the same strategy, and they've done it multiple times. Aaron Rodgers didn't start until his fourth season. Jordan Love had to wait two seasons until he took over as the Packers' starter. Of course, it helped that Green Bay had a future Hall of Fame quarterback already starting both times.
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Some of Dart's biggest weaknesses as a draft prospect were his ability to be decisive in his reads of opposing defenses and the timing of his throws against zone coverage. One of the best ways for Dart to develop those processing and timing skills is to continue working on it in practice against an NFL-level defense, something he didn't see in college.
Rather than throw Dart in the deep end against pro defenses in meaningful, regular season games, head coach Brian Daboll is taking a slower approach.
Another possible reason for the delay in Dart taking over as a starter could be the lack of a solidified offensive line. Left tackle Andrew Thomas has missed the Giants' first two games, which would leave the rookie without one of the league's best blind-side protectors.
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Giants QB depth chart
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Jaxson Dart
The Giants are one of about a dozen NFL teams to have three quarterbacks on their active roster. Through Week 2, Winston has been listed as inactive for both of the Giants' games but dressed as New York's emergency third quarterback.
Wilson has played two games on the opposite sides of the spectrum. His Week 1 start was inconsistent, and his accuracy was lacking as he finished his Giants debut with a 45.9% completion rate. Week 2's start was one of the best of Wilson's career. He completed 30 of his 41 pass attempts (73.2% rate) for 450 yards, just short of a career high, and three touchdowns.
Dart debuted in Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys, recording one rush for -3 yards when he fell down behind the line of scrimmage on a read-option play. He has yet to attempt his first career pass in a regular season game.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Where does Jaxson Dart stand on Giants QB depth chart?
