The New York Giants are moving into the 2026 season with Jaxson Dart at the center of everything, and that is exactly how John Harbaugh sees it. Dart is set to make his first Week 1 start of his NFL career on Sunday against the Cowboys, and the message around him is clear: if the Giants are going to get where they want to be, it has to run through the 23-year-old quarterback.
That is a significant shift in tone for a player who has only 12 NFL starts behind him. It is also why this first Week 1 start matters so much. The Giants are no longer simply talking about Dart as a promising young quarterback. They are talking about him as the player who may define the direction of the franchise.
During an appearance this week on the NFC East Mixtape podcast, Harbaugh said everything starts with Dart for the Giants and that the team must run through him if it wants to reach its goals. In a separate sitdown with Mike Tomlin, he went even further, saying Dart is more talented than he first thought.
Harbaugh sees the tools
Harbaugh’s evaluation was direct and revealing. He said Dart can really throw it, has great pocket presence, understands the pocket, feels it, sees downfield, and can escape to make plays. He also pointed to the patience and poise that have already stood out, even while stressing that Dart is still learning and that the coaches are doing a great job with him every day.
That balance is important. Harbaugh is clearly impressed by the ceiling, but he is not suggesting Dart is finished. He said Dart still has to find a way to be tight and refined like all quarterbacks do, even if there is also value in not taking away the traits that make him dangerous.
That is the central question for the Giants in this season. Dart does not need to become a different player. He needs to become a more complete version of the one they already believe in.
Simms’ ranking shows the size of the leap ahead
This week, Chris Simms placed Dart No. 22 in his annual quarterback rankings, slotting him between Cam Ward and Jalen Hurts. That is a useful snapshot of where Dart stands right now: not among the league’s elite yet, but no longer a quarterback who can be dismissed as just a developmental project.
Simms praised Dart’s unreal feel and instincts, along with his ability to extend plays and turn broken moments into backyard football. He also said Dart is a pretty good decision-maker and likes his arm, even if he was careful not to call it elite. Simms said Dart hits the throws that are there to be made, but questioned whether he can consistently make the high-level throws that the sport’s best quarterbacks make.
That is where the real debate begins. The Giants do not need Dart to be Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert, Caleb Williams or Matthew Stafford overnight. But the higher the standard, the clearer the challenge becomes. If New York wants a future built around Dart, he has to keep closing that gap.
Sunday is the first real checkpoint
On Sunday against the Cowboys, Dart’s first Week 1 start will give the Giants a much better idea of where they are headed. Early starts do not decide a career, but they can shape the conversation around a young quarterback quickly.
For the Giants, the hope is that Dart’s talent, poise and ability to create outside structure will translate into reliable play when the season begins for real. For Dart, the task is simpler to say than to do: show that the franchise can build through him, not just around him.
That is why this opening game carries so much weight. The Giants are not merely watching a quarterback take another start. They are watching the start of a season that may tell them how far Jaxson Dart can take them.
