and avoid big hits<\/a>) and when to kill a bad play with a throwaway has overshadowed the idea that Dart needs to improve his footwork as a dropback pocket passer to take a leap forward in Year 2.\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s a mandate,\u201d ESPN NFL analyst and former quarterback Dan Orlovsky told The Post.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Giants incorporated many Ole Miss elements into their offense last year to ease Dart\u2019s rookie transition. New offensive coordinator Matt Nagy is running more of a traditional NFL offense that requires Dart to be more frequently under center (79.9 percent of snaps in the shotgun last season) and use more play-action fakes (26.9 percent) to balance out RPO (run-pass option) concepts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Orlovsky counts three ways quarterbacks generally evolve \u201cfrom their young time when they have moments of success to taking the next step.\u201d While tweaking the throwing motion does not apply to Dart, the other two \u2014 reading defenses more efficiently and progressing footwork \u2014 do.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey master the understanding of the importance of their three-step drop and what kind of three-step drop, the five-step drop and what kind of five-step drop, the seven- or eight-step drop and what kind,\u201d Orlovsky said. \u201cAnd how that ties into not only the route but the concept and the protection. That is where he has to take an astronomical step.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) walks on the field during training camp at the Greenbrier, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, in White Sulphur Springs, W.VA. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST<\/p>\n
Pocket footwork clicked for MVPs Josh Allen (Bills) and Lamar Jackson (Ravens) late in their second seasons and eventually elevated former bust Sam Darnold (Seahawks) to meet expectations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a few things mechanically that are different,\u201d Dart said early in camp. \u201cProbably just the biggest thing is a little bit of footwork landmarks in the pocket. But we\u2019ve repped the hell out of it. I\u2019m feeling really good with the track that we\u2019re on. It\u2019s not something out there when I\u2019m on the field that I have to think extra about when I\u2019m having a rep at a certain play.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
No one is trying to strip away the off-script playmaking that makes Dart special. But it\u2019s more complex than checking a box and making the right decision.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you do the five-step drop that got the ball out at the right time in regards to the protection that was assigned to the play and also the right time in how it timed up with the route that allowed the ball to be placed at the right place at the right time to allow the receiver to do extra?\u201d Orlovsky explained. \u201cJaxson is going to have to learn to have control over that element of the game and really start to understand how his feet impact the potential success of the play.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Giants head coach John Harbaugh is willing to be patient with Dart. But that doesn\u2019t mean he won\u2019t give Dart an earful, as he did after a practice-ending interception Day 3 of camp.\u00a0<\/p>\n
New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart looks for the open man during the first half at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t even imagine how much there is for a quarterback to operate with, especially in a new offense,\u201d Harbaugh said. \u201cThere\u2019s so much on his plate. He\u2019s pushing the envelope. He\u2019s also competing at the same time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dart ranked No. 19 among NFL quarterbacks in Estimated Points Added on pass plays last season. With time and a directive to go through reads from the pocket this season, Dart is expected to become more efficient at reading disguised coverages rather than just taking off if the first or second read isn\u2019t open.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA [second-year] quarterback just sees defenses more,\u201d Orlovsky said. \u201cHe knows that out of certain structures, he\u2019s only going to get a couple different pressures. He\u2019s seeing them more. He understands them more. He can get ahead of them quicker. That\u2019s a mandate for anybody taking the next step.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart practices during an NFL football training camp on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. AP Photo\/Chris Carlson<\/p>\n
The Giants are treating every passing snap like a Buy One Get One Free in training camp. After his drop, if nothing is open, the scramble happens, the whistle isn\u2019t blown and the defense still has to cover, rally to the ball and force a stoppage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Harbaugh said Dart \u201cis going through his progressions really well.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGo behind the scenes with Big Blue\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
The aspects Dart struggles with might be removed from the playbook entirely as the trial-and-error focus narrows closer to Week 1.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we\u2019re installing plays, a lot of times it\u2019s to exotic [defensive] looks,\u201d Dart said. \u201cAnd so, it\u2019s good for us to have that communication and it\u2019s good for us to make those adjustments so by the time we get into the season, we feel like we\u2019ve seen a lot already.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. \u2014 Jaxson Dart\u2019s feet aren\u2019t just used for scrambling.\u00a0 The tiresome debate over whether…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":315894,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7710,3917,34377,9,2683,11,10,22,319,63749],"class_list":["post-315893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-dan-orlovsky","tag-jaxson-dart","tag-john-harbaugh","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-giants","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-nfl","tag-sports","tag-training-camp"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=315893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315893\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/315894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=315893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=315893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=315893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}