Giants' Jaxson Dart shares honest feelings on NFL preseason debut vs. Bills

The New York Giants were pretty coy this week about who would play in their preseason opener Saturday in Buffalo.

The only name head coach Brian Daboll wanted to share as a confirmed participant: Jaxson Dart.

Dart, the rookie QB out of Ole Miss, was taken No. 25 overall in April's NFL Draft after the Giants traded back into the first round to get him.

Now, he's looking at his NFL preseason debut at the Bills.

He spoke with reporters ahead of the big moment to share what this summer has been like for him.

“I feel like I’ve grown a lot,” Dart said Thursday. “My understanding of the game, my understanding of just this offense specifically, but I’ve been able to take big steps and I’m feeling more and more confident each and every day in this offense and kind of what they’re asking me to do. I’m just happy to have that process of when I make mistakes, being able to fix it quickly, and I have great players around me, great leadership around me who helps develop me each and every day.”

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Dart also shared that he has spoken with Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who broke into the NFL under the Daboll offense.

“I think the biggest thing as the quarterback – he talked a lot about leadership," Dart said. "That was kind of like his main thing and then trying to be the best teammate for the guys around you because as a quarterback, you have to raise the standards of everybody."

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Dart is one of three quarterbacks expected to be on the Giants' roster when Week 1 of the regular season rolls around.

Russell Wilson is primed to be the starter. The veteran backup is Jameis Winston, and then there's Dart.

It's not yet clear whether Dart will slot in as QB2 or QB3 to start the season, but he's clearly the QB of the future, and so whatever happens, it's important for the Giants to get him the chances he needs here in August to jumpstart his development into a starting quarterback down the road.

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