The New York Giants underwent a facelift in 2025, taking two seminal players in the first round of the NFL draft in linebacker Abdul Carter and quarterback Jaxson Dart.
Those moves still did not move the needle for them in the NFC East standings, however. Big Blue lost 13 of its 17 games and finished last in the division. Going forward, however, things might be looking up.
The Giants brought in John Harbaugh as head coach, and with Harbaugh comes all the accoutrements: Discipline, purpose, direction, and, yes, winning.
Eric Mangini, the former head coach of the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns, is currently a studio analyst for FOX Sports. On a recent episode of First Things First, Mangini, in analyzing the Giants, said he believes that Dart can take the Giants from “worst to first” under the guidance of Harbaugh and his staff.
“When you look at that division, Dallas, who knows how they’re going to come out when all is said and done defensively. But, you know, the Giants versus Washington, I mean, Washington’s been up and down,” he said. “Philly, all the drama that they’ve had there, that could implode. And with Jaxson Dart, he did a lot of good things last season. . . His touchdown-interception ratio was good. He didn’t turn the ball over that much.
“My concern with him is going to be more whether or not he can tone down this bravado that he has. I know we talk about moxie and aggression. All that stuff is good. But if you’re not able to play because you’re hurt, then you’re no real use to anybody.
“And I think that could be as much of a limiting factor for him as anything. The way you also infuse a veteran head coach in the organization and that stability. Yeah, it’s on the table for the Giants.”
Dart missed two games with a concussion and put himself in harm’s way nearly every time he left the pocket. The Giants are hoping that Harbaugh and his staff, particularly offensive coordinator Matt Nagy and quarterbacks coach Brian Callahan, can get Dart to play things a little safer.
The Giants’ running game under Harbaugh and assistant Greg Roman should alleviate some pressure from Dart this year, and they’ll likely have fewer designed running plays with his name on them. He’ll also get top wideout Malik Nabers back from injury. The two played in just one game together last season. Nabers warrants nearly 10 targets per game. That will also keep Dart in the pocket.
The Giants are a better team with Dart in the lineup. They were 4-8 with him and 0-5 without. He needs to stay healthy if he’s going to take Big Blue to the playoffs. Having Harbaugh in his ear will help.
“I do think Harbaugh can sit down there and be like, look, I’ve had the greatest running quarterback ever (Lamar Jackson), and he slid,” co-host Chris Broussard added. “He, you know, he got out of harm’s way. You won’t survive in this league if you keep playing. So I think he has a credibility, not only because he’s been a very good coach, but because he coached a running quarterback even much better, obviously, than Dart. So I think that there’s a chance that Harbaugh can get through to him, and yeah, they could, they could make some noise.”
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Ex-NFL head coach: Jaxson Dart can take Giants from ‘worst to first’
Reporting by John Fennelly, Giants Wire / Giants Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
