NFL draft 2025: Former Corner Canyon QB Jaxson Dart selected in the 1st round by NY Giants
by Sean Walker kslcom · KSL.comEstimated read time: 4-5 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Shortly after the New York Giants selected former Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter with the No. 3 overall pick of the 2025 NFL draft, a reporter asked general manager Joe Schoen if they were "done for the night."
At the time, the Giants had only one first-round pick, and they used it on who most considered to be the best pass rusher available.
But ...
"We'll see," Schoen responded with a smirk. "You always ask if you guys can go home. Whatever you've got to do to do your job; I'm never going to tell somebody how to do their job."
The Giants still had one more piece of work, though, trading back into the first round to select former Corner Canyon star quarterback Jaxson Dart with the No. 25 overall pick Thursday night.
A former Corner Canyon High quarterback will begin his NFL journey in New York City? Not quite deja vu; this one grew up in Kaysville.
The Giants made Dart, formerly of Corner Canyon and Roy High before playing collegiately at USC and Ole Miss, the highest NFL draft pick out of the state of Utah since fellow Chargers alum and former BYU quarterback Zach Wilson went No. 2 to the New York Jets in 2021.
Dart narrowly edged out former Utah linebacker Devin Lloyd, who went to the Jacksonville Jaguars with the No. 27 overall pick in 2022. He's the third Utah native quarterback to be drafted in the last five years, and the third Utah native quarterback drafted in the first round.
The Giants traded with the Houston Texans to get back into the first round following the selecting of Carter after consensus top pick Cam Ward from Miami and Colorado two-way standout and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter to Jacksonville at No. 2. In addition to swapping the No. 25 and No. 34 picks, the Texans also received the 99th overall pick and a third-round selection from New York in 2026.
Giants head coach Brian Daboll told local media Thursday night that the team was in "Phase 1" of their offseason program, but added he "likes the way (Dart) plays" — even if he's slated behind a pair of veteran additions who are new to New York.
"I like his competitive fire," Daboll said, per NFL.com. "I like his accuracy. I like his ability to push the ball down the field, his athletic ability to run with the football. … I think this guy's got better every year he's played. He's a leader. He was smart. He has the attributes that we were looking for. Excited to have him. Look forward to getting him in the room. He's got a lot to learn. It'll be a process here with him, but he's a guy we look forward to working with."
By trading back into the first round, the Giants also secured the right to exercise or decline a fifth-year option on Dart's rookie contract, per league rules.
Dart was the second quarterback drafted in 2025, behind only No. 1 pick Ward to the Tennessee Titans. He'll join a quarterback room in New York led by 36-year-old veteran Russell Wilson and journeyman signal caller Jameis Winston.
At the conclusion of the 2024 season, former Syracuse and Illinois quarterback Tommy DeVito was the only quarterback set to return to the Giants' roster this fall.
The 6-foot-2, 225-pound signal caller was a well-regarded quarterback since well before he spent his final three seasons at Ole Miss to become the school's all-time winningest quarterback. Surrounded by friends and family back home in Utah — including BYU receiver and former Roy High teammate Parker Kingston — Dart watched his NFL future soar through several rounds of "maybe" until landing on a bit of certainty.
Dart was a first-team all-state selection in multiple sports at both high school — he also played baseball — and was named the national football player of the year by Gatorade after throwing for 4,691 yards and a state-record 67 touchdowns as a senior at Corner Canyon.
A former four-star recruit, Dart was also the MaxPreps national player of the year, and earned Utah player of the year honors by Gatorade and the Deseret News after a prep career that included 10,688 passing yards and 117 touchdowns.
But after playing as Kedon Slovis' backup during his freshman season at USC, Dart transferred out and connected with Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin to head to Oxford, Mississippi, where the Utah native threw for 10,617 yards and 72 touchdowns with 22 interceptions in his final three seasons.
Dart earned first-team All-SEC honors in 2024, when he was the Conerly Trophy winner given annually to the best college football player in the state of Mississippi by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.
When he graduated high school, he told KSL.com that he plans to become a sports broadcasters "some day." But before he calls highlights on ESPN, Dart will call plays in the NFL and the Big Apple.
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Sean Walker
KSL.com BYU and college sports reporter