Jaxson Dart taken 25th overall by the New York Giants in NFL Draft

KAYSVILLE, Utah (ABC4) — Former Roy High and Corner Canyon High School quarterback Jaxson Dart was selected with the 25th overall pick of the NFL Draft Thursday night by the New York Giants.

Dart is the third Utah high school quarterback ever drafted in the first round, joining Roy’s Jim McMahon in 1982 and Corner Canyon’s Zach Wilson in 2021.

The Giants traded the No. 34 pick, the No. 99 pick and a third-round selection in 2026 to the Houston Texans to move up nine spots for Dart, who will join a quarterback room that already includes Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston.

Dart started his high school career at Roy High School before transferring to Corner Canyon High School, where he led the Chargers to the 6A state championship in 2021 and was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year.

Dart began his college career at USC before transferring to Ole Miss, where he set school records for most victories (28), passing yards with 10,617 and total offense with 12,115.

“We’re fired up to have Jaxson Dart as part of the organization,” Schoen said, “and look forward to working with him.”

So the Giants made a draft day trade to get one — and from Ole Miss — as they did in 2004, when they acquired Eli Manning from the Chargers who took him No. 1 overall. Manning eventually led the franchise to two Super Bowl victories, and the Giants can only hope this move works out nearly as well.

But with Wilson and Winston already in New York, Dart won’t have to be rushed onto the field — at least not this season.

“This is just where my journey starts,” Dart said during a video call. “I’m stepping into an amazing room with a Super Bowl-winning quarterback who can see it from a different lens at such an elite level. I can’t wait to go learn from him, go learn from all the other guys in Tommy and Jameis in the room and then just the team as a whole.

“I feel like it’s just a bunch of great competitors who really see it the same way, and I can’t wait to go out there and compete and do all that I can to make the team better.”

Dart was the second QB selected in this year’s draft after Cam Ward went No. 1 overall to Tennessee.

Dart, a 6-foot-2, 223-pound quarterback, improved his draft positioning with an outstanding senior season at Ole Miss. A first-team All-SEC selection, Dart ranked third in the FBS with 4,279 yards passing and was the Gator Bowl MVP in the Rebels’ victory over Duke after throwing for 404 yards and four TDs.

Dart played his first college season at Southern California, but transferred to Mississippi after his freshman year. In three seasons playing under Lane Kiffin, he set the school records for yards passing with 10,617 and total offense with 12,115.

“He’s got a lot of qualities you look for in a good quarterback,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said. “He’s tough, makes good decisions with the football, pushes the ball down the field, has athletic ability, played in a really tough conference, started there at USC as a young guy.

“But did a really good job throughout this process of our meetings, board work, workouts and the tape that we liked.”

Dart has been on NFL scouts’ radars since he was the national Gatorade Football Player of the Year during his senior year at Corner Canyon High School — where 2021 No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson also once played — after throwing for 4,691 yards and a Utah state-record 67 TD and only four interceptions.

He said there’s “no doubt” he fits in with the spotlight of playing in the Big Apple.

“As a competitor, you want to play on the biggest stages,” Dart said. “You want to play in front of the most passionate fans, most world-renowned program and organization. That’s just kind of what I wanted to be a part of. I felt like my process of getting to this moment, I just feel like I’m built for it.

“I’m really excited to go after it with everything that I’ve got.”