The New York Giants took a swing for their quarterback of the future on Thursday. Hours after selecting Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter third overall, they traded back into the first round to select Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart at No. 25.

It was no secret that the Giants coveted Dart throughout the draft process. However, after limited communication with head coach Brian Daboll leading up to Thursday, Dart wasn't sure if he would land in New York.

“Yeah, so Coach [Daboll] would text me a lot,” Dart told ESPN's Jordan Raanan. “And man, I would say like two weeks ago he kind of died off, so I didn't know what to expect. But no, I felt like — I don't know, I just had a good feeling about this. I just felt like this was going to work.”

While Shedeur Sanders was long viewed as the draft's second-ranked signal caller, several reports indicated that Dart was the Giants' preferred choice behind Cam Ward. Those rumors grew louder when general manager Joe Schoen's son, Carson, posted an Instagram story of the Ole Miss quarterback on Wednesday.

Giants trade up to select Jaxson Dart in first round of 2025 draft

Mississippi Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) reacts after the game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
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The reports about Schoen and Daboll's affinity for Dart were accurate, as New York traded the No. 34 pick, No. 99 pick and its 2026 third-round pick to the Houston Texans to move up nine spots to select him.

“We went through an extensive process, and we moved up for Jaxson,” Giants general manager Joe Schoen said. “We're fired up to have him. But at the end of the day, when we went through the process and we ranked them, this is how we had them ranked, and Jaxson — we felt the value matched up with where we saw the player.”

While few draft analysts had a first-round grade on Dart, he threw for 4,279 yards with 29 touchdowns and six interceptions last season while leading Ole Miss to a 10-3 record. The Utah native will spend a year on the Giants' bench in a quarterback room that features veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston.

“He's in a really good spot where he can come in and he can sit behind a couple of veteran quarterbacks and learn and doesn't have to be thrown out there right away,” Schoen said. “I think from a developmental standpoint and the ability to grow, I think it's a perfect situation for a young quarterback.”