When Could Jaxson Dart Make His 1st NFL Start?

The New York Giants revealed their 2025 season schedule on Wednesday. The NFL wasn't kind to the Giants, who enter the campaign with general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll on the hot seat. 

They open with consecutive division matchups in the Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys. In fact, three of Big Blue's opening four opponents qualified for the postseason in 2024, with the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers as the early-season follow-ups.

The Giants will almost certainly want a veteran quarterback to help navigate the schedule's initial difficult stretch. That makes Russell Wilson the favorite to begin the campaign as the starter. Jameis Winston represents an alternative option, but Wilson was signed to be the bridge starter.

With experience needed to survive the early-season gauntlet, the question is, when will rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart make his debut start?

Analyzing the Giants' schedule provides hints as to when Daboll might locate the most fruitful opportunity to insert Dart into the lineup. For example, if the East Rutherford based club drops their opening four contests, the postseason isn't within reach. Daboll's job security would undoubtedly come into question, but that's a different topic.

The Week 5 matchup versus the New Orleans Saints is among the easiest on the Giants' schedule and could represent Dart's best early-season opportunity. The Saints are expected to be in contention for the No. 1 overall selection in the 2026 NFL Draft, given their lackluster quarterback situation.

Getting Dart his first experience versus a lowly Saints squad could prove worthwhile. It would offer Dart a soft introduction to the NFL before the schedule gets extremely difficult again. The Giants play four top defenses in the league from Weeks 6-9, with a double-shot of the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, the Denver Broncos, and San Francisco 49ers rounding out a tough midseason stretch.

If the Giants manage to execute an upset within their opening four contests, they'll remain in NFC East contention and won't force a QB change in Week 5 before facing the Eagles-Broncos-Eagles-49ers consecutively. If Dart doesn't convince Daboll to start him versus the Saints in early October, the former Ole Miss signal caller will need to continue exercising patience. The opportune moment won't immediately arrive.

The Week 13 primetime showdown versus the New England Patriots stands out. It's a late-season Monday Night Football contest against a rebuilding squad that owned the No. 4 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Giants also possess a Week 14 bye, potentially offering Dart an opportunity to regroup and watch the tape after making his first career start versus a softer opponent.

Dart would then possess four additional opportunities to conclude the season, offering the Giants a decent Year One sample size. Daboll should attempt to get his rookie signal-caller into the lineup as early as realistically possible, but that Week 13 match-up with the Patriots should be earmarked as the absolute latest date on the timeline.

The Giants' primary 2025 goal is to offer Dart an opportunity to prove he's a legitimate franchise quarterback. That can’t get lost in the shuffle of Daboll and Schoen trying to salvage their jobs.