Jaxson Dart’s first taste of the NFL was loud, electric and, for a moment, looked like the start of something big in East Rutherford. Then the knee injury hit, and nearly two months later, the Giants quarterback seems to have slipped a little too far out of sight.
FanSided’s latest NFL QB rankings put Dart 21st out of 91 options, a placement that feels light after what he showed in Week 1 against Dallas. The outlet noted that “career reputation or past performance” wasn’t weighed “more than necessary,” and that “only expectations for 2026 mattered.” Even with that framing, Dart’s spot looks awfully modest for a player who was tracking like a rising star before the injury cut his season short.
Against the Cowboys in New York’s 28-20 win, Dart was sharp from the jump. He went 23 of 29 for 230 yards and three touchdowns, while also adding 54 yards on 11 carries. His 79.3 completion percentage, 134.2 passer rating and 69.0 passing success rate all ranked second among 36 passers in the opening slate.
That performance wasn’t just about the box score, either. Dart helped lift the whole offense, and the Giants’ 3.03 single-game offensive expected points added per drive still stands as the best mark in the league this season. It was a small sample, sure, but it was also the kind of statement game that should stick.
What makes the ranking harder to swallow is the company Dart is keeping. Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders sits 15th on FanSided’s list, and the gap between the two doesn’t look especially wide as passers or runners. The source also points out that Dart has more victories than Daniels since 2025.
There’s also the strange reality that New York has held up without him. The Giants have done a strong job staying afloat in his absence, though the defense has been the main reason. The offense hasn’t collapsed, but it hasn’t looked like the same unit Dart was steering, and the ground game has taken a major hit.
So yes, the knee injury changed the conversation. But it shouldn’t have changed the view of Dart as a rising quarterback. If anything, his Week 1 breakout showed why he belongs much higher than Tier 4 and why, once he’s back at full strength, he could move past plenty of the names ahead of him.
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