The conversation around Jaxson Dart and Jalen Hurts is already heating up, and the season hasn’t even started yet.
That’s what happens when a second-year quarterback starts drawing real buzz while a Super Bowl-winning starter keeps getting picked apart. Hurts has spent the offseason under a microscope, with questions swirling about his leadership and whether he can still be trusted as a franchise quarterback. Then NFL Media’s Chad Reuter added another layer to the debate, making the case - however subtly - that some teams might be better off with Dart than with Hurts.
Reuter’s seven-round mock draft was built around a win-now approach, with each team shaped by how the player is expected to look in 2026. In that exercise, Dart landed at No. 40 to the Bears, while Hurts went two picks later to the Eagles. They were the 19th and 20th quarterbacks taken.
That slot for Dart isn’t a slight. He’s still only in his second year and has 12 starts on his résumé.
If Reuter runs this again next year, the expectation should be that Dart is climbing into the first round. But the more striking part is the choice to take Dart over Hurts at all.
That says something about where Hurts sits in the league right now.
Strip away the names and the reputation, and the question becomes simple: who would you trust more this season, Dart with his injury concerns or Hurts, who is durable but has started to look like a system quarterback whose flaws showed up last year?
That’s where the debate gets uncomfortable for Hurts. The line between good and great at quarterback is about how much a player can lift the people around him, and Dart showed enough as a rookie to spark legitimate belief that he can be at least above average. He also drew strong praise for his maturity and enthusiasm.
Hurts, by contrast, is being described in far less flattering terms. He can be a solid starter, but the argument here is that he benefited from the Tush Push and from playing in a perennially disappointing NFC East. Even after winning a Super Bowl, the doubts haven’t gone away, and Eagles fans are still not satisfied.
Reuter’s mock also placed Brock Purdy at No. 31 to the Patriots, and the fact that Hurts went behind him only sharpens the point. Hurts is not being put in the Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson tier, but the broader message is clear: the league view of him is getting colder.
That doesn’t erase the biggest thing on his résumé. Hurts has the ultimate laugh on most of the players in this conversation because he has already won a Super Bowl as a starting quarterback. Among active starters, only Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford, Patrick Mahomes, and Sam Darnold can say the same.
Still, Reuter’s approach is rooted more in present-day football than ring counting, and that’s what makes it worth noting. In a week where Dart’s name has already been tied to plenty of national chatter around the Giants, this was a more grounded take than most.
In Other News...
Giants Fans Just Got A New Reason To Watch Dart Closely
The Giants spent the 2026 offseason reshaping the roster around a new coaching voice, bringing in John Harbaugh and layering in veterans such as Isaiah Likely, Tremaine Edmunds, Greg Newsome II, DJ Reader and Shelby Harris. They also added Arvell Reese, Colton Hood and Malachi Fields in a draft class that drew strong reviews across the league, giving the team a noticeably different look before a snap has been played.
Amid all that turnover, Jaxson Dart has become one of the more interesting figures to watch. Jameis Winston has already praised Darts work ethic, and the young quarterback enters the year with plenty of attention on how he handles a bigger stage and a retooled supporting cast. The upside is obvious, but so is the pressure to clean up some of the pocket habits that showed up in 2025. [Read more 🡒]
Tremaine Edmunds Might Be The Giants Fix Fans Stopped Believing In
The Giants went into the offseason knowing the middle of their defense needed more than a tweak. Last seasons run defense lived near the bottom of the league, and the signing of Tremaine Edmunds was aimed at giving the unit more size, experience and reliable tackling in a spot where opponents had too much room to work.
Edmunds is expected to be the steady starting point New York has been missing, but the rest of the linebacker room is still sorting itself out. Micah McFadden is fighting for his role, Arvell Reese still has to earn snaps, and the Giants are banking on Edmunds to bring some order to a position group that has not offered much of it lately. [Read more 🡒]