I expect there will be a wide range of opinions on Jaxson Dart. He’s got some selling points, but he’s also got some troubling concerns.
The Giants are turning things over to the less annoying of the two Harbaughs. He tended to be a winner in Baltimore, and he can bring that to New York, that will be a good thing.
But Harbaugh isn’t an offensive coach. Matt Nagy is the coordinator, and I think he’s my least favorite of the 32 who are currently filling those roles. His last three offenses in KC finished with 37, 41 and 38 touchdowns – below-average every year, despite working with perhaps the game’s best quarterback. Nagy’s last three offenses in Chicago were also below-average in producing touchdowns, begging the question, ‘What is it, exactly, that he brings to the table?’
Weaponry looks just fine. Malik Nabers as a rookie looked like he might develop into one of the top half-dozen receivers in the game. And they’ve got a nice pair of tight ends, Isaiah Likely and Theo Johnson.
For our fantasy purposes, Dart’s scrambling ability is key. He’s willing to take off, particularly in the red zone. He’s scored 9 touchdowns in his first 12 starts as a pro. That ties Josh Allen for the 2nd-most in league history, behind only Cam Newton.
Since the league moved to 32 teams in 2002, only six quarterbacks have put up better overall rushing numbers in their first 12 starts. That’s assuming 6 points for touchdowns and 1 for every 10 rushing yards.
| RUSHING PRODUCTION IN FIRST 12 STARTS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Pts |
| Cam Newton | 100 | 518 | 5.2 | 13 | 129.8 |
| Tim Tebow | 130 | 772 | 5.9 | 7 | 119.2 |
| Jalen Hurts | 119 | 704 | 5.9 | 8 | 118.4 |
| Josh Allen | 95 | 643 | 6.8 | 9 | 118.3 |
| Lamar Jackson | 169 | 864 | 5.1 | 5 | 116.4 |
| Robert Griffin | 105 | 714 | 6.8 | 6 | 107.4 |
| Jaxson Dart | 84 | 487 | 5.8 | 9 | 102.7 |
| Anthony Richardson | 86 | 471 | 5.5 | 7 | 89.1 |
| Vince Young | 76 | 499 | 6.6 | 6 | 85.9 |
| Jayden Daniels | 99 | 556 | 5.6 | 5 | 85.6 |
| Kyler Murray | 71 | 446 | 6.3 | 4 | 68.6 |
| Joshua Dobbs | 71 | 367 | 5.2 | 5 | 66.7 |
| Tyrod Taylor | 85 | 476 | 5.6 | 3 | 65.6 |
| Deshaun Watson | 70 | 456 | 6.5 | 3 | 63.6 |
| Tyler Huntley | 95 | 442 | 4.7 | 3 | 62.2 |
| DeShone Kizer | 61 | 315 | 5.2 | 5 | 61.5 |
| Justin Fields | 80 | 434 | 5.4 | 2 | 55.4 |
| Bo Nix | 64 | 300 | 4.7 | 4 | 54.0 |
| Drake Maye | 52 | 409 | 7.9 | 2 | 52.9 |
| David Garrard | 70 | 344 | 4.9 | 3 | 52.4 |
| Dak Prescott | 47 | 217 | 4.6 | 5 | 51.7 |
| Andrew Luck | 44 | 216 | 4.9 | 5 | 51.6 |
| Colin Kaepernick | 69 | 392 | 5.7 | 2 | 51.2 |
| Tyler Thigpen | 60 | 370 | 6.2 | 2 | 49.0 |
| Jacoby Brissett | 53 | 241 | 4.5 | 4 | 48.1 |
| Jameis Winston | 42 | 160 | 3.8 | 5 | 46.0 |
| C.J. Beathard | 50 | 219 | 4.4 | 4 | 45.9 |
| Ryan Fitzpatrick | 48 | 277 | 5.8 | 3 | 45.7 |
| David Carr | 47 | 248 | 5.3 | 3 | 42.8 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 47 | 188 | 4.0 | 4 | 42.8 |
Statistics compiled using search tools at Pro-Football-Reference.com
That rushing production, of course, comes with the considerable risk of injury. He took way too many avoidable big hits last year. He was knocked out of three different games. After missing two games following a concussion, he came back against New England and foolishly allowed himself to get blown up near the sideline. He doesn’t seem to understand the value of protecting himself.
I like the upside with that scrambling (if Nagy doesn’t foul it up), but I don’t think you can select Dart with the belief he’ll be starting in all 17 games. In general, looks more like a second quarterback to me, rather than the one you’ll be counting on to start.
—Ian Allan
