Giants OTAs Notes: QB snap counts, plus Jaxson Dart impressions

EAST RUTHERFORD - The Giants have a plan for their quarterbacks. Brian Daboll has no desire to tell anyone what that plan is or what that plan will look like, but it's there.

Before Wednesday, the only thing anyone knew was that Russell Wilson was the starter and the team would develop rookie first-round pick Jaxson Dart. How many reps would each get? How did Jameis Winston factor in? Would Tommy DeVito have any chance to do anything? Would first-team reps be awarded to anyone else?

It was a mystery. Until Wednesday.

The Giants took the field for their second organized team activity, the first open to the media. You didn't need Daboll's words. Your eyes answered the questions above.

Here's the complete report...

Attendance isn't mandatory

But everyone was there for the Giants, Daboll said. That's a good sign because that hasn't been the case in the past. That doesn't mean everyone practiced, though. Noteworthy absences (from team drills) included receiver Malik Nabers, running back Tyrone Tracy, tackle Andrew Thomas, guard Jon Runyan and defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence. The Giants are taking it easy with Thomas, Runyan and Lawrence, all of whom ended the season on the injured reserve and had procedures either during the season or offseason. It's unclear what's wrong with Tracy (Daboll did not say anything pre-practice).

Nabers was a bit of a surprise. He's dealing with a toe issue, Daboll said. He didn't have any offseason work done to it, nor does he need any work done on it in the future. It's something the team will monitor and should get better with rest. Apparently, every week since the season ended wasn't enough. Nabers has, per Daboll, been dealing with it since college.

And your starting lineup

It's always interesting to see who the initial starters are. On offense: Wilson (quarterback), Devin Singletary (running back), Darius Slayton (receiver), Jalin Hyatt (receiver), Wan'Dale Robinson (receiver), Theo Johnson (tight end), James Hudson (left tackle), Aaron Stinnie (left guard), John Michael Schmitz (center), Greg Van Roten (right guard), Jermaine Eluemunor (right tackle).

The second team: Winston, Eric Gray, Zach Pascal, Montrell Washington, Daniel Bellinger, Josh Ezedeu (left tackle), Evan Neal (left guard), Austin Schlottmann (center), Jake Kubas (right guard), Marcus Mbow (right tackle).

The starting defense: Brian Burns, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Jordon Riley, Elijah Chatman, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Micah McFadden, Bobby Okereke, Paulson Adebo, Deonte Banks, Andru Phillips, Tyler Nubin, Jevon Holland.

Quarterbacks galore

This is among the most fascinating quarterback rooms I can remember covering, mostly because you have four guys who have all made some form of a name for themselves. There was one year where the Jets had (briefly) Josh McCown, Teddy Bridgewater, Christian Hackenberg and Sam Darnold. That one was similar.

The Giants have the fading veteran (Wilson), a former No. 1 overall pick (Winston), a current first-round pick (Dart) and a folk hero (DeVito). You know Wilson is the starter, but Dart is the future when he's ready. Problem: The third-string quarterback doesn't usually see much action. That's, obviously, not conducive to development, as the Giants are hoping to do.

Dart will not have a typical third-string quarterback role if Wednesday was any indication. The Giants held 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills for the team periods of practice (offense versus defense). Wilson received 15 of those snaps, Winston 15 and Dart 14.

I wasn't sure if Daboll would give DeVito a chunk of reps because he's been with the team the last two years, essentially making Dart earn it. That was ... not the case. DeVito's role with the team is the cliche camp arm. The Giants gave him just four reps in the team period. Not once did DeVito receive two reps in a row. It was one-and-done at the end of each period.

Theo Johnson with the NY Giants, runs drills during a practice at Quest Diagnostics Training Center, East Rutherford, NJ, May 28, 2025. / Anne-Marie Caruso/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Who wants OTA stats?

Of course you do! OK, maybe you don't, but you're a little curious, right?

It should be noted: All team periods for the Giants were conducted deep inside the red zone. The exact yard marker is hard to say because the media watched from the opposite 20- 30-yard line, but it appeared to be around the 10. That's why these touchdown numbers seem inflated. There were several dump-offs in the flat that resulted in scores.

Wilson went 1 of 4 with a touchdown in 7-on-7 drills, then 5 of 7 with three touchdowns in the team period. Winston was 1 of 3 with an interception, then 5 of 10 with four touchdowns.

Dart was 1 of 3 with a touchdown, then 2 of 3 with two touchdowns, an interception, and two rushing touchdowns. DeVito was 1 of 1 with a touchdown, then 2 of 3 with two touchdowns.

The rookie looks ...

You never want to make too much out of rookie minicamp because the majority of the players on the field are tryout guys who won't sniff an NFL roster. These OTAs are still guys running around in gym shorts, but, for the most part, those out there will be the ones the Giants take with them to Washington. You can absolutely glean information from this, even the early ones.

Confident and comfortable were the best two words to describe Dart at rookie camp. The same ones fit after Wednesday. He has this, as Okereke said, aura" about him. You can tell he's authentic and the type of person guys want to be around - not because of status or money, but because of his moxy.

Nothing about his interactions with teammates seems fake. The Giants broke their pre-practice stretch and Dart went up, high-fiving and tapping most of his teammates on the helmet. He's the first to celebrate with guys after a catch or score. After every drill, he's talking to someone else. I covered Zach Wilson with the Jets. Teammates often criticised him because they never felt he was one of them. There is a very obvious difference between the interactions you see with Dart and his guys, compared to Wilson. Most notable: Guys are also routinely coming up to him, too.

Dart worked mostly with the backups, but did get three reps with the starters. The first provided the highlight of practice. He rolled out to the left, planted, threw a pass over the head of Okereke and into the hands of Hyatt in the back of the end zone. Impressive touch. He also had a roll out late in practice where he dove and reached the pylon - another touchdown. Not sure the coaches loved seeing him superman-dive for the end zone in a May practice, though.

The Giants ushered reporters back to the patio for interviews toward the end of practice. Normally, this is no big deal: You miss three or four reps with the third-string quarterback. Dart, though, is the third-string quarterback. His reps matter. Three reporters hung by to watch his final throws (with the starters) while most retreated inside. The Giants ended practice with what appeared to be a situational, fourth-down play from the red zone. No one was open. Dart forced it into coverage and McFadden picked him off.

A bounce-back season

It was nice to see Hyatt out there with the starters (in place of Nabers). He showed some legitimate progress as a rookie, catching 23 passes for 373 yards. He averaged 16.2 yards per catch. He clashed with upper management and the coaching staff, fell out of favor with them, then out of the lineup in Year 2. Hyatt might not be a legit starter, but he was criminally underutilized last year (among the reasons he mentally checked out), finishing with eight catches for 62 yards in 16 games.

Some of what happened behind the scenes made a Hyatt offseason trade feel inevitable. It never happened. He's back and it seems like he's in a much better headspace. He and Dart connected for the highlight of practice, but Hyatt caught another touchdown earlier, too, on a pass in the flat from Winston. It will be interesting to see if he can carve out a role for himself this summer.

Again: He might not be a starter, but he should see a handful of targets each game. He has speed you can't coach and can absolutely be a weapon as a deep threat if utilized correctly.

Quick hits and tidbits

- You could probably have scripted this, but Winston's first pass as a Giants quarterback was an interception. He threw it over the middle, the ball popped in the air, then Dan Belton came down with it. Winston was ... off a bit on Wednesday. When he missed, he really missed. Considering how Dart looks, it will be interesting to see how long Winston is on the roster. He could be traded.

- Theo Johnson looks bigger. The tight ends ran through individual drills in front of the media and the second-year tight end stood out. The Giants have told everyone how high they are on him. Johnson developing into a weapon would be huge for the offense. He didn't make much noise in team drills on Wednesday.

- There were several examples on Wednesday of the secondary forcing the quarterback to hold the ball an extra tick or two. Twice it led to sacks by unclear defenders (Dart, Winston), other times throwaways. That didn't happen much (if ever) the last two years. The Giants have made significant investments in their secondary in that time, adding Adebo, Holland, Nubin and Phillips.

- It was curious to see Neal playing left guard not right. You figured he'd work on the other side to compete with Van Roten, but that's not the case. Guards are (generally) interchangeable, but for someone like Neal, who is learning a brand new position, you kinda want him to get as many reps as possible at the place he could play in the regular season. At least you would think that's what you want. The Giants sometimes make curious decisions when it comes to roster management.

- Ezeudeu is still a left tackle. Not sure why, but he is.

Next up ...

The Giants will hold their next media-open OTA on Thursday, June 5.