Will Jaxson Dart take a giant Year 2 leap like Drake Maye did? | Blue Rush

Everybody's talking about Jackson Dart's year two leap, but the question should be could it be comparable to Drake Mays? I mean when you look at both guys situation going into their second year in the league and first as a proven QB1, here's why the Drake May blueprint fits. The situational parallel is pretty uncanny. Both got thrown into the fire as rookies on bad football. May, 4-13 backup turn starter, threw for 2,276 yards, 15 TDs, 10 INTs with an 88.1 rating. Dart, 4-13 backup turn starter, threw for 2,272 yards, 15 TDs, but only 5 interceptions. So nearly the same yardage as May's rookie year with half the INTs. Both walked into year two with brand new head coaches installed specifically to develop them. Drake May got Mike Vrabel, Jackson Dart gets John Harbaugh. So here's where the Jackson Dart to Drake May traits translate over going into year two. They're both dual threat quarterbacks. May ran for 421 yards, two touchdowns as a rookie. Dart ran for 487 yards and nine rushing touchdowns. That's the most in franchise history for a quarterback and third most ever by a rookie. And that is what takes me into three stats in the passing game where Drake May really took that leap and his numbers absolutely went bonkers and he exploded. And that same door is open for Jackson Dart, and we'll start with yards per attempt. May went for 6.7 year one to 8.9 yards per attempt. Dart's rookie years, yards per attempt or YPA, 6.7 in his 12 starts. That's exactly what May's rookie number was. And if he's able to add that type of improvement or leap in his game, the Giants passing game would make one of the single season best leaps in the entire NFL. But YPA is cool and everything moves the chains looks cute. But all in all, in the NFL, you've got to be able to push the football down the field. All eyes are going to be on the deep ball this season. May's completion rate on 15 plus air yard throws went from 29%, which was dead last to 65%, which was first, the biggest year over year jump tracked in 20 years. There's a wanted big plays in the past game poster right outside of MetLife Stadium. And the big completions down the football field this season is a must. A must. Lastly, touchdown to INT ratio. May went from 15 and 10 to 31 and eight. Dart's already ahead of that pace at 15 and five as a rookie. If he can pull off 31 touchdowns next season, that'll be tied for fourth most in a single season in Giants history. All right, stats are cool and everything, but here's the part that can actually make the leap real. A playmaker upgrade, a healthy Andrew Thomas, and a two-time 1,000 yard from scrimmage running back. And we'll start with Isaiah Likely coming in to be this team's TE1. May's jump came with better weapons, Stephon Diggs and Mac Hollins in New England. Dart gets a hardball system tied in who's caught 135 balls for a little over 1,500 yards and 15 tutties down in Baltimore, including a 42 catch, 477 yards, sixth touchdown season back in 2024. The wide receiver room's projection and production is a question mark heading into the season. So having that vertical red zone threat at tight end that Dart never had as a rookie and the Giants haven't seen since Jeremy Shockey is a must and it'll be a luxury. We got to wait to see if Malik Nabors is back to 100% and when he's going to be back to being league, but until then they brought in a tight end that can make plays who now joins an offensive coordinator who's been around Travis Kelsey. Number two, a healthy Andrew Thomas. This might be the single biggest swing variable in this entire equation. May had stable physical protection up front pushing for his development. Dart didn't start until week four as a rookie in part because Andrew Thomas wasn't healthy yet. And once he was Thomas or AT was graded as a top five tackle in football, 90.3 PFF grade, which was fourth among 89 qualified tackles. A rookie quarterback learning to process fast needs a clean pocket on his blind side. A consistently healthy AT gives JD the luxury to actually play from a clean pocket instead of having to scramble and survive out of one. Four or five of the starters from that offensive line of last year returns for the Giants and they added the 10th overall pick in the draft, CC Maunoa, to the interior. Time in the pocket turns a do it on his own type quarterback to a franchise type quarterback. Lastly, Tyrone Tracy Jr. in the backfield. Tracy's now a two-time 1,000 scrimmage yard back, which is only the third Giant ever to do that in his first two seasons, joining Saquon Barkley and Odell Beckham Jr. He's paired with a healthy Cam Scadaboo going into his second year, so that's a run game that can control tempo, shorten games, and keep Dart out of the obvious passing situations where rookies make mistakes happen. A quarterback taking the year two leap almost always has a run game doing some of the heavy lifting. Bottom line for the fan base and all of you watching, Dart's rookie floor is already a notch above what Drake Mays was statistically. You add John Harbaugh, trusted receiving tight end, a top five left tackle, finally healthy for a full season, let's hope, and a proven 1,000 yard from scrimmage back holding down the run game and the Giants have built almost the exact same support system that turned Drake May into an MVP runner-up. The tools are there. Now it's all about Jackson Dart cleaning up what held him back last season, deep ball accuracy, sacks, and taking unnecessary hits. The year two leap is in his hands.