Jaxson Dart is no Saint.
But he thought there was a chance he would be after he left his predraft meetings in New Orleans.
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tRY IT NOWThe Giants and Saints were among the most quarterback-needy teams entering the 2025 draft, and Dart was one of the main prizes of the class. Dart hasn’t forgotten the perceived slight after the Saints passed on him with the No. 9 pick — choosing left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. — as he prepares to lead the Giants into the Superdome on Sunday.
“I think there is always a chip on your shoulder any time that something like that happens,” Dart said after Wednesday’s practice, the first before his second career start. “I’m just going to go play as hard as I can.
“I felt like my visit with [the Saints] went good, so you kind of have thoughts in your head during the draft of what options are realistic, and I definitely feel like that was a place that could’ve panned out. But things didn’t work out that way.”
On the night of April 24, the Giants had trusted intel that the Steelers were not going to draft a quarterback at No. 20. But then all bets were off.
As general manager Joe Schoen paced the draft room looking to move up from No. 34, he told his brain trust that he was specifically wary about trades the Browns (No. 33 and No. 36) and Saints (No. 40) might make into the 20s.
“It’s really hard because you are trying to come up with what other teams are going to do,” Schoen said on “Giants Life.” “You assume everybody has their board like yours. You like a player, you are assuming everyone else likes him. That’s definitely not the case.”
There was lots of buzz in scouting circles connecting the Saints and Dart. One of Schoen’s mentors, former Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland, is a Saints executive.
The Saints brought Dart in for multiple meetings, and Dart felt like he built “good relationships” with head coach Kellen Moore and offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier.
But nothing compared to the rapport he built with Giants head coach Brian Daboll, whose job security could ride on Dart’s rookie development. After Dart led an 89-yard touchdown drive on the opening possession of last week’s upset win against the Chargers, Daboll turned to the crowd, pumped his first and yelled “That’s our f–king guy!”
“I love it here,” Dart said. “There’s not a place I’d rather be. I love how passionate people are here outside of the facility, within the facility. I like the attitude the East Coasters have here.”
Dart is displaying a little New York-minded toughness this week as he practices with tape around his left leg at the start of practice and a compression sleeve at the end — the result of soreness from nine quarterback hits behind the line of scrimmage and tackles at the end of his 10 carries.
“Some of the sacks I took were some of the biggest ones hit-wise that I could’ve avoided,” Dart said. “A lot of them in the open field were on third down. I’m not going to slide before the sticks. I don’t really regret any of those decisions. … I’ll be good to go.”
The Giants had predraft trade parameters in place with the Chargers (No. 22), but that deal fell apart when running back Omarion Hampton slid further than expected into San Diego’s arms.
Schoen executed a trade with the Texans (No. 25) to get Dart while on the other phone line with Rams general manager Les Snead, who was picking No. 26 and feared internally to be eyeing Dart.
“I thought he was a top 10 pick,” ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky told The Post. “He was asked to do a lot of difficult things at Ole Miss. He knows the ‘why’ of the plays. Once you know ‘why,’ if you don’t get what you thought [defensively] when you called that play, then you know what the problem is.”
Post-draft reports indicated that the Saints had Tyler Shough — a seventh-year senior — graded ahead of Dart. Shough fell into their hands at No. 40 and is their backup behind Spencer Rattler — a second-year pro with an 0-10 career record.
The Giants hosted Shough for a visit, conducted a private workout and sent a contingent including Schoen to his pro day at Louisville.
“I think he’s a good player, has good athleticism,” Daboll said of Shough. “He has his own story and his own journey, but I had good visits with him leading up to the draft. I think very highly of him.”
But Dart was identified as the Giants future then. And he is the present now.
“It was just one game,” Dart said. “Our expectation is to win every game. You can’t make it bigger than what it is.”