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Throughout the first half of 2026, first-year New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh and new offensive coordinator Matt Nagy spoke about how impressed they were with the toughness that quarterback and 2025 first-round draft pick Jaxson Dart showed throughout his rookie season.
More recently, Harbaugh insisted that there is "a fine line" that separates wanting Dart to better protect himself and taking away what makes the young signal-caller a valuable asset. For a piece published on Tuesday, NFL insider Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports shared how the Giants somewhat attempted to scare Dart into realizing what he can and can't do during future games.
Giants want Jaxson Dart to better understand "risk-reward calculus"
"As new Giants staffers settled in, Nagy queued up clips to remind Dart that visits to the blue tent — in the preseason, in his first start and repeatedly through the season — compromise his availability," Epstein wrote. "The goal is not to eliminate Dart's confidence and swagger. But the Giants are working to hone their young quarterback's risk-reward calculus."
Dart was checked for a concussion four times during games from last preseason up until he was knocked out of the Giants' Week 10 loss at the Chicago Bears on Nov. 9. He ultimately missed two starts while he was in the concussion protocol, but he later defiantly said he was still "going to play aggressive." Dart also mentioned that Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills "take hits" on gamedays.
Nagy previously served as Chiefs offensive coordinator from 2023–25. He also held that job in 2017 when Mahomes spent the bulk of his rookie season as a backup.
"You can't just say, 'Don't run the football here because you could get hurt.' You have to show him the evidence," Nagy said about Dart while speaking with Epstein. "'Where did you take the extra hits? Was it necessary?' You have to show them clips."
Can Jaxson Dart learn when it's not worth it to take a "risk" during games?
Those running the Giants would love for Dart to follow in the footsteps of Mahomes, who became a three-time Super Bowl MVP before he turned 30 years old in September 2025. For that to even be possible, Dart will have to avoid averaging one concussion per season.
"We've said for many years to [Mahomes], 'Use your legs as a weapon,'" Nagy added. "What I've really noticed and come to appreciate with Patrick is that when he does use his legs, he makes you pay … otherwise, he's going to throw it. It's picking and choosing when are you going to use your legs as a weapon and trying to translate that to Jaxson because he's really good at running the football, and he's tough. So you put all that together, [and] now we just got to figure out, 'OK, when?' When do we sacrifice our body for the good of the team versus losing you and not having you play?"
Ideally for the Giants, Dart won't take a single hit this summer from the start of training camp through the end of the preseason. Thus, fans may have to wait until New York opens the upcoming campaign with a "Sunday Night Football" matchup versus the rival Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 13 to see what Dart has and/or hasn't learned as it pertains to his playing style.
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