The New York Giants arguably got the best value for it's picks in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. At No. 3 overall, general manager Joe Schoen selected Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter, pegged by some experts as the best player available. Then, he took a gamble by trading back into the first round at No. 25 overall for Mississippi quarterback Jaxson Dart as the apparent future of the franchise under center.
While Dart likely won't see action during the 2025 regular season (New York signed veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston this offseason to top the depth chart), fans will have a lot to look forward to from him in the future. Carter on the other hand, should be an impact player from day one and Dart apparently wanted everybody to know it.
Dart and Carter met for the first time at the Giants' facility shortly after they were drafted. Their meeting was caught on camera for the team's post-draft video series and what Dart had to say to his fellow first-round selection will have Giants fans psyched.
Jaxson Dart told teams Abdul Carter is the best guy he's played against pic.twitter.com/ONKtBTWqPX
— Giants Nation Show (@GiantsNationPod) May 8, 2025
Jaxson Dart had nothing but praise to heap on his new Giants teammate Abdul Carter
"This is going to be awesome bro," Dart told Carter in the Giants' locker room. "Obviously, we played against each other, and in all my meetings I was like, 'This is the best guy I've played against,' so we turning up."
For Dart to have been hyping up Carter to prospective teams during his own pre-draft meetings, that means he might've known whichever team picked the pass rusher at the top of the first round (most were QB-needy to begin with) had a significant chance of aiming for him later on.
It seems that potential calculation was correct and now the two could be the future of the Giants on either side of the ball.
"I'm a big fan of Jaxson Dart," Carter told reporters in a news conference the same day he met the rookie QB. "I played against him in the [2023] Peach Bowl when he was at Ole Miss... he's tough."
Dart's Rebels won that game 38-25, taking a few hard hits from Carter, but now he'll have the former Nittany Lion asserting his dominance at opposing QBs instead. Week 1 can't come soon enough for Giants fans.