There’s renewed hope surrounding the New York Giants’ passing game as the 2025 NFL season approaches. How could there not be? With Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, and rookie first-round pick Jaxson Dart now manning Big Blue’s QB room, the odds that we’ll get some fireworks from coach Brian Daboll’s offense are higher than they’ve been since he arrived in 2022.
Wilson will begin the year as the QB1, but expectations are that Dart will eventually supplant him for the starting job. As the old adage goes, it’s not a matter of if; instead, it’s a matter of when.
Realistically, Dart’s NFL debut probably won’t come until after the season’s midway point, and if Wilson can rip off some unexpected victories, the Giants might hold off on rolling out their prized rookie until even later in the year.
Regardless, Wilson — for as experienced and seasoned as he is — still isn’t inspiring too much excitement around the league, which was reflected in Pro Football Focus’ new ranking of the NFL’s quarterback-receiver duos as the 2025 season approaches.
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The combination of Wilson and superstar-in-the-making Malik Nabers ranked near the bottom of the league at No. 27.
“Nabers earned an 87.1 PFF receiving grade as a rookie in 2024 and should continue to thrive, regardless of whether the Giants slot in Wilson, Jameis Winston or Jaxson Dart at quarterback,” PFF’s Trevor Sikkema wrote.
“Wilson recorded an impressive 6.3% big-time throw rate last season, so it’s clear that he, Winston or Dart will be looking for Nabers deep down the field.”
Perhaps the New York Giants received such a low ranking due to the uncertainty surrounding who the starting quarterback will be. Let’s face it: for as much optimism as there is around Dart’s upside as an NFL starter, he’s still just a rookie. And that usually means a whole lot of growing pains.
It will be interesting to monitor how Nabers responds to the potential roller coaster at QB. Blessed with talent equal to the NFL’s best wideouts, Nabers suffered through some horrendous quarterbacking in 2024 yet still managed to set the Giants’ single-season receptions record as a rookie.
There’s no doubt Nabers will do his part, and expectations are that he’ll ascend into the tier of wide receiver royalty in 2025. Perhaps he alone will have enough of an impact on New York’s passing game to push a ranking like this much higher when 2026 rolls around, assuming Wilson (or, more likely, Dart) does their part.
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