Charles Davis released his first mock draft of the year, and he made it a doozy.
The NFL Media analyst projected quarterbacks to go 1-2-3, starting with Colorado's Shedeur Sanders to the Titans. Next up is Miami's Cam Ward to the Browns, and then it gets interesting. For the Giants at No. 3, he has Mississippi's Jaxson Dart.
"The last time the Giants went all in on a QB from Ole Miss, it worked out pretty well," Davis wrote. "I know people have not been projecting Dart to go this high, but New York has a screaming need at the position."
It's not the first connection made between Dart and Eli Manning.
Dart, the third-ranked quarterback in the class according to NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah, broke the Ole Miss all-time passing record during the Egg Bowl last November. The previous mark was held by Manning, who doesn't "usually get excited" when something like that happens. But the two-time Super Bowl MVP made an exception, sending out a congratulatory message to his fellow Rebel.
"Having gotten to meet you over the years and watch your career, I'm happy that it's someone like you," Manning said. "Congratulations again, and keep up the great work."
That he did.
Dart finished out his Ole Miss career with program records in wins (28) and winning percentage (.737) by a starting quarterback (28), total offense (12,115), passing yards (10,617), passing efficiency (162.8), 300-yard passing games (15), rushing yards by a quarterback (1,498), and total offense per play (8.14).
"He's been a huge role model for me," Dart said last week at the NFL Scouting Combine. "Somebody who has shed a lot of wisdom throughout my time at Ole Miss. … [He's someone] I've really looked up to. We've definitely had those conversations. He's a legend. Anytime when you're around that Hall of Fame style of a player, you want to take little pieces and learn as much as you can."
Manning will always follow the quarterback of his alma mater, but he got an up-close look at Dart during the Manning Passing Academy last summer. Dart was one of several star college quarterbacks who served as counselors.
"I've been to games, and I'd seen him briefly, but it was the first time really getting to sit down with him, hang out with him, go on stage, and tell some stories," Manning told reporters at the time. "I enjoyed his personality. I was able to take some lighthearted digs at him, and he reciprocated and did the same with me, which is fun. That's what it's all about. It kind of makes it special for the group. I got to hang with him … and eat dinner with him. He seems like a great kid and has a good head on his shoulders. I'm excited about his future."
That future could be the Giants, who are currently trying to find their next franchise quarterback. Dart was asked about his interactions with the Giants so far.
"That's been great," he said. "Coach Daboll is somebody who brings a ton of energy anytime you step into a room. That whole coaching staff, I've had a ton of experience working with them at the Senior Bowl (where offensive coordinator/assistant head coach Mike Kafka served as a head coach) and meeting with them. Especially here, being able to sit and talk ball again, it's been a lot of fun."
Now he is out show people there isn't a gulf between him and Ward and Sanders. But that's for the media to talk about and the teams to decide.
"Look, there's a lot of people who say a lot of different things, so I'm not trying to tie my head into anything like that," Dart said. "I'm somebody that's process-driven. I just want to take it one day at a time. This has been a dream for me since I was a little kid to be in this position that I'm in today. I'm really just trying to improve. I know that if I control things that I can control, everything's going to play out the right way. I'm not even too nervous about that at all."
General manager Joe Schoen said that he would like to pair a young quarterback with a veteran. How would Dart handle that?
"I've never sat on the bench before," Dart said. "So that would definitely be an adjustment early on, but I don't think that's a bad thing at all. I think it's something that you can go into a situation and learn as much as you can. A lot of times when you're in that situation or playing behind a veteran quarterback who's had a ton of success and just knows a ton about the game. So you've got to be a sponge, and I think that a lot of times you've seen some of the most successful quarterbacks come out of situations like that. You can bring up Patrick Mahomes. As of late, you know, Jordan Love."
If that opportunity eventually comes with the Giants, then the odometer would reset to 57,023 yards.
NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah released his initial ranking of the top 50 prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft.
No. 50 Darius Alexander, DT, Toledo
No. 49 Charles Grant, T, William & Mary
No. 48 Jack Sawyer, Edge, Ohio State
No. 47 Kaleb Johnson, RB, Iowa
No. 46 Shavon Revel Jr., CB, East Carolina
No. 45 Elijah Arroyo, TE, Miami
No. 44 Benjamin Morrison, CB, Notre Dame
No. 43 Maxwell Hairston, CB, Kentucky
No. 42 Jaxson Dart, QB, Ole Miss
No. 41 Joshua Farmer, DT, Florida State
No. 40 Josh Conerly Jr., T, Oregon
No. 39 Carson Schwesinger, LB, UCLA
No. 38 Azareye'h Thomas, CB, Florida State
No. 37 Quinshon Judkins, RB, Ohio State
No. 36 Mason Taylor, TE, LSU
No. 35 TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State
No. 34 Malaki Starks, S, Georgia
No. 33 Luther Burden III, WR, Missouri
No. 32 Donovan Jackson, IOL, Ohio State
No. 31 Josh Simmons, T, Ohio State
No. 30 Donovan Ezeiruaku, Edge, Boston College
No. 29 Grey Zabel, IOL, North Dakota State
No. 28 Shemar Stewart, Edge, Texas A&M
No. 27 Walter Nolen, DT, Ole Miss
No. 26 Derrick Harmon, DT, Michigan State
No. 25 Nick Emmanwori, S, South Carolina
No. 24 Kelvin Banks Jr., T, Texas
No. 23 Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State
No. 22 Matthew Golden, WR, Texas
No. 21 James Pearce Jr., Edge, Tennessee
No. 20 Kenneth Grant, DT, Michigan
No. 19 Omarion Hampton, RB, North Carolina
No. 18 Armand Membou, IOL, Missouri
No. 17 Mike Green, Edge, Marshall
No. 16 Mykel Williams, Edge, Georgia
No. 15 Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado
No. 14 Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona
No. 13 Tyler Booker, IOL, Alabama
No. 12 Jihaad Campbell, LB, Alabama
No. 11 Will Johnson, CB, Michigan
No. 10 Cam Ward, QB, Miami
No. 9 Jahdae Barron, CB, Texas
No. 8 Will Campbell, T, LSU
No. 7 Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan
No. 6 Jalon Walker, Edge, Georgia
No. 5 Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State
No. 4 Mason Graham, DT, Michigan
No. 3 Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
No. 2 Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado
No. 1 Abdul Carter, Edge, Penn State
Currently on Giants.com
Around the NFL
View photos of NFL.com's list of the top 101 free agents of 2025.
No. 101 RB Nick Chubb
No. 100 WR Diontae Johnson
No. 99 DL Sebastian Joseph-Day
No. 98 CB Mike Jackson
No. 97 WR Joshua Palmer
No. 96 RB Kenneth Gainwell
No. 95 G Aaron Banks
No. 94 DT D.J. Jones
No. 93 T Jedrick Wills Jr.
No. 92 WR DeAndre Hopkins
No. 91 Edge Chauncey Golston
No. 90 TE Juwan Johnson
No. 89 CB Mike Hilton
No. 88 T Tyron Smith
No. 87 LB Tyrel Dodson
No. 86 Edge Marcus Davenport
No. 85 TE Mike Gesicki
No. 84 QB Daniel Jones
No. 83 S Julian Blackmon
No. 82 LB Lavonte David
No. 81 WR Keenan Allen
No. 80 G Brandon Scherff
No. 79 LB Bobby Wagner
No. 78 WR Elijah Moore
No. 77 CB Rasul Douglas
No. 76 LB Kyzir White
No. 75 CB Stephon Gilmore
No. 74 S Justin Simmons
No. 73 QB Jimmy Garoppolo
No. 72 Edge Baron Browning
No. 71 WR Mike Williams
No. 70 C Ryan Kelly
No. 69 CB Jourdan Lewis
No. 68 G James Daniels
No. 67 DT Poona Ford
No. 66 S Jeremy Chinn
No. 65 RB Rico Dowdle
No. 64 QB Jacoby Brissett
No. 63 RB J.K. Dobbins
No. 62 CB Nate Hobbs
No. 61 Edge Charles Omenihu
No. 60 LB Robert Spillane
No. 59 Edge Dante Fowler Jr.
No. 58 DT B.J. Hill
No. 57 QB Russell Wilson
No. 56 DT Tershawn Wharton
No. 55 S Camryn Bynum
No. 54 QB Jameis Winston
No. 53 DT Jarran Reed
No. 52 G Mekhi Becton
No. 51 T Dan Moore Jr.
No. 50 WR Dyami Brown
No. 49 RB Najee Harris
No. 48 Edge DeMarcus Lawrence
No. 47 OL Patrick Mekari
No. 46 Edge Azeez Ojulari
No. 45 CB Kristian Fulton
No. 44 WR Darius Slayton
No. 43 WR Hollywood Brown
No. 42 S Talanoa Hufanga
No. 41 Edge Chase Young
No. 40 RB Aaron Jones
No. 39 G Kevin Zeitler
No. 38 Edge Dayo Odeyingbo
No. 37 C Josh Myers
No. 36 CB Paulson Adebo
No. 35 DT Calais Campbell
No. 34 LB Jamien Sherwood
No. 33 DT Levi Onwuzurike
No. 32 DT Javon Hargrave
No. 31 G Teven Jenkins
No. 30 WR Stefon Diggs
No. 29 T Alaric Jackson (Update: Jackson and the Rams have agreed to a new multi-year contract)
No. 28 T Cam Robinson
No. 27 LB Ernest Jones
No. 26 S Justin Reid
No. 25 Edge Malcolm Koonce
No. 24 Edge Khalil Mack
No. 23 CB Asante Samuel Jr.
No. 22 S Tre'von Moehrig
No. 21 QB Justin Fields
No. 20 Edge Haason Reddick
No. 19 G Will Fries
No. 18 LB Nick Bolton
No. 17 S Jevon Holland
No. 16 LB Dre Greenlaw
No. 15 CB Byron Murphy Jr.
No. 14 C Drew Dalman
No. 13 WR Amari Cooper
No. 12 CB D.J. Reed
No. 11 CB Charvarius Ward
No. 10 CB Carlton Davis III
No. 9 WR Chris Godwin
No. 8 LB Josh Sweat
No. 7 DT Osa Odighizuwa
No. 6 QB Sam Darnold
No. 5 LB Zack Baun
No. 4 T Ronnie Stanley
No. 3 DT Milton Williams
No. 2 G Trey Smith (Update: The Chiefs have placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Smith)
No. 1 WR Tee Higgins (Update: The Bengals have placed the franchise tag on Higgins)
Subscribe to Giants Text Alerts to stay up to date on breaking news, ticket offers, gameday entertainment, and more!
