'You know he has it': How Jaxson Dart broke out in his best practice of Giants camp so far

EAST RUTHERFORD - Malik Nabers challenged Jaxson Dart's competitive fire.

This was on the basketball court at Russell Wilson's San Diego home earlier this month, in between throwing sessions for New York Giants teammates gathered for a final tune-up with training camp looming.

Nabers, the Giants' best wide receiver, and Dart, their future franchise quarterback, were going at it something fierce, guarding one another in a pick-up hoops game between a pair of first-round picks unwilling to back down.

So when Nabers stepped to Dart in a heated moment between plays, wanting to see how his rookie teammate would respond, he was testing the mettle of a 21-year-old that, if he reaches his potential, will play a significant role in his football life.

What Dart did next let Nabers know he wasn't the only dawg in the Giants' yard.

"I stepped right back to him, no hesitation at all," Dart told NorthJersey.com and The Record with a smile on Sunday afternoon. "I don't ever want to be in position where I'm gonna lose, so Leek challenged me, I challenged him right back. If you're not going to give it your all in everything you do, then you're probably gonna lose."

Fire. Attitude. Moxie. Swagger.

That was Nabers last season in his record-setting rookie campaign, and there's no question that is who Dart is, with the former Ole Miss star the Giants traded back up into the first round to draft putting that on display since he got here.

Nabers learned that on the basketball court, and he loved the grit. The Giants are starting to see that from Dart on the field more consistently, and in Sunday's practice, this was the best Dart has looked all summer.

In the first three practices, Dart had his ups and downs. There were good moments, for sure, and those in which he seemed to be operating a half-second behind the defense, taking too much time to read and react. Any slight hesitation in this league can result in disaster.

But on Sunday, in practice No. 4, Dart was a different quarterback. You could see the game speeding up on his end, accelerating the learning curve in his development with seemingly every snap he takes.

Make no mistake: Wilson is the Giants' starter and it's been that way since the spring. Dart is the future, whether that is days, weeks or months from now isn't a decision the Giants are willing or ready to make, nor should they.

Sunday's practice fittingly ended with Dart leading the Giants' second-team offense down the field, and it was as if Hollywood was writing the script. The largest crowd of camp was buzzing with anticipation. An overcast morning gave way to an unexpected rain shower, and as the drops fell with more frequently, Dart found his rhythm.

He put together a 12-play drive in a down-and-distance period, mixing things up and leaving zero doubt as to who was in command. Dart found college teammate Juice Wells on a deep out to convert a third down, then hit two more undrafted rookies, Beaux Collins and Jordan Bly, on downfield passes, and another to running back Cam Skattebo that allowed the offense to move deep into the defense's territory.

Then, on fourth and goal, after Dart got the defense to jump offsides with a hard count, he fired into the back of the end zone for Da'Quan Felton. Cornerback Tre Hawkins III had good coverage and knocked the ball up in the air, yet Skattebo somehow got in position and nearly made a spectacular, toe-tapping grab for the touchdown.

Upon further review, part of Skattebo's cleat just touched the line, leading to only the second incompletion for Dart during an 11-for-13 passing performance in team drills Sunday.

"I would say his greatest skill right now is his grit - he's a dude," Giants wide receiver Beaux Collins told NorthJersey.com and The Record on Sunday. "Second practice of OTAs, they told us, 'Don't dive or reach the ball out for the goal line or [the first-down markers],' but Jaxson couldn't help himself. It was a 'gotta have it' period and he dove and lunged out for the touchdown and got it. Just small stuff like that, you see that from the guy and you know he has it."

Dart has not been perfect, and coach Brian Daboll and the Giants want it that way. There have been moments when he looks the part of a raw developmental QB, going back to spring workouts when he was thrown into reps with the first-team offense, just to see how he would respond.

The Giants' scouting reports on Dart were predictive in nature. Daboll loved his moxie, competitive fire and accuracy, which has shown up. He has been unafraid to push the ball down the field, and he can do it, too.

"He’s an instinctive player," Giants quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Shea Tierney previously said of Dart, whose development will continue to involve working closely with Tierney, Daboll, offensive coordinator/assistant head coach Mike Kafka and assistant QB coach Chad Hall.

"I don't want to play like a robot. I think that's just my play style," Dart said Sunday. "When I'm on the field, I'm going to be aggressive in any situation. ... A quote that we go by in the quarterback room is, 'Be aggressive, but not reckless.' And so, when you have opportunities to put the dagger in, that's what you got to do. And at the same time, you can't be reckless. It's just situational based as an offense. You look at the turnover margins, and the turnover ratio of the most successful teams in the league to the least successful team, and that's probably the number one thing that goes into it. So, you have to keep those things in mind. At the same time you got to be a dawg on the field and make those plays when they're there. This time [of year], it's okay to make some mistakes and to learn from them."

Once upon a time, specifically a decade ago, Jameis Winston was the No. 1 overall pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so both he and Wilson are doing what they can to ease Dart's transition to the pros as veterans.

Two days ago, Dart ended practice with a touchdown pass to Skattebo, capping a drive that Winston initially led before giving way to the rookie. Winston joked that he was used to doing that in New Orleans when Sean Payton would pull him to insert Taysom Hill to "run in and run quarterback power for the touchdown."

The switch was not on the call sheets, so when Daboll sent Dart onto the field, the decision was made to see if the young quarterback could answer the challenge.

And much like he did when his best receiver stepped to him on the basketball court, Dart stepped up.

Asked to put Dart's experience in perspective, culminating in what we saw Sunday, Winston obliged.

"When you first get out there, your confidence might be high because of the blessings and the talent that God has given you, but it’s not as high as it’s executing the offense. I think Jaxson is developing that execution state of his confidence, because – he’s swagged out, he’s chill, he’s cool as a cucumber, but, however, reps matter. When you’re out there and you’re getting four, five reps at a time and the way that [Daboll] is doing it – he’s throwing us out there, then pulling us out there - it’s creating a great chaos for him to learn this scheme."

In the midst of that chaos, Jaxson Dart showed the Giants exactly what they wanted to see on Sunday - and not without the promise of more to come.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Jaxson Dart: How Giants rookie QB broke out in best practice of camp