Q. What have the last 12 hours been like for you?
JAXSON DART: Yeah, it's been crazy. It's been surreal for sure. I mean, just growing up as an athlete, this is what your dream is. Being able to experience this with my family, my loved ones back home was quite a special experience, and then carrying it over to come here and bring them with me is an amazing experience for sure. I couldn't be more happy.
Q. What's it like to walk around this building and see the trophies and knowing what's expected of you?
JAXSON DART: Yeah, no doubt. This place is iconic. Everybody in the National Football League knows it. If you're a fan, you know it. I'm blessed to be here. I'm humbled by it. It's extraordinary to see it on the wall when you walk by. You can just feel it in the air when you're here. I was able to meet a legend today in Carl Banks. To be a part of this is quite amazing, and I'm very humbled by it.
Q. What kind of interactions did you have with John Mara before the process and then the last 24 hours?
JAXSON DART: Yeah, they were great. I was able to have conversations with them going into this process. I think anytime that you get to have those opportunities, you want to take full advantage of them. Being able to meet them and create that connection before I was even drafted here was special.
Look forward to continuing with that and just really grateful for them and them believing in me.
Q. You look at the quarterback room, the Giants went outside to (indiscernible) this off-season. How do you see yourself fitting in right away?
JAXSON DART: Yeah, I think it's just a great opportunity for me to learn. They've played at the highest level, won Super Bowls. I remember as a little kid I was watching Russ play and I actually have a jersey of him when he was with the Seahawks. Like I said, it's a surreal experience to be able to play here and play with those great guys, such an elite caliber, and I'm just really prepared to take it day by day and try to improve myself and learn from them as much as I can.
Q. Even Abdul and those guys initially, team trades up to have another pick in the first round, they're going to pick a good franchise quarterback. What does that mean to you essentially being this franchise's quarterback?
JAXSON DART: Yeah, it's special. Them being able to have that belief in me, I think as a competitor you have that belief in yourself, so when you're able to be a part of an organization that sees it the same way, it's special, and I think that they have an amazing plan lined up for me in the development program and then being able to learn from the vets that are ahead of me is going to be great.
Q. One of the things that's unique about the draft is that people do sometimes look at pieces of your game, and one of the criticisms of you is just you needing time to develop, which isn't a bad thing. How ready do you believe you are, and when you heard you needs time to develop, what goes through your mind?
JAXSON DART: You know, quite honestly, I've just tried to stay away from that as much as I can. I'm just focused on getting better each and every day. I feel like anytime I step on the football field I'm going to go out there and ball, regardless of who I'm playing against. I have that confidence in myself, but at the same time, I understand coming to the next level there's definitely going to be a development piece, and that goes for anybody, regardless of where you're at in your career, if you're taking it to the next level.
That's my plan is to attack each and every day and to prepare myself for whenever my time is to come.
Q. Did Eli give you any advice on how to handle everything else around this job, not just playing football but being the quarterback for a New York team?
JAXSON DART: Yeah, so he was actually one of the first people to reach out to me yesterday when the news broke, and I think I've had such a great connection with him and the Manning family that being able to have them in my corner has been a huge asset, and I couldn't be more blessed to have them in my corner coming here and continuing that in the future.
Q. Did he tell you anything specifically?
JAXSON DART: We're going to have conversations coming up. These last few hours have been kind of crazy.
Q. How much do you plan on using him as a sounding board?
JAXSON DART: I think I would be kind of a fool not to. Really any questions that I have, I think he's a great person to rely on and kind of lean on. He's been here, played at the highest level, won Super Bowls, and for me, I want to chase greatness just like he did. So I think when you're able to pick the brain of a future first-ballot Hall of Famer, you'd be a fool not to.
Q. How much does it help that you have that Ole Miss connection?
JAXSON DART: Yeah, it's huge. It's huge. Like I said, I think it's going to be a great asset for me to carry over to the next step.
Q. What do you remember about the Peach Bowl, your victory over Penn State and Abdul Carter's strip sack on you --
JAXSON DART: I remember he got after me early on in that game. I remember game planning for him and just seeing his skill set was such an elite level. I actually told my family before this that I hope I get the chance to play with him, because I know how great of a player he is. I've seen what his teammates have said about him and how he's able to set a culture for the team, and I see it the exact same way. I'm excited to compete with him and be a teammate with him.
Q. You worked with Joe Judge at Ole Miss. Did you pick his brain about the organization and playing in this market?
JAXSON DART: Yeah, he gave me some -- he's going to connect me with some really good people, and I think just like many others, he's a great asset for me. He's had a lot of experience.
He shed a lot of wisdom down to me, and I'm just grateful to have him as an asset, as well. He's been a great source in my development at Ole Miss, and he was able to be at my draft party yesterday, which says a lot to me. He's been a huge supporter.
Q. What stood out about Abdul's game when you were game planning for him?
JAXSON DART: Geez, he doesn't really have a weakness. He can do it all. He's so versatile. I played him when he was playing in the box at the linebacker position, and how he was able to disrupt the game from that -- I still remember a play we had on short yardage where he chased from the end of the line of scrimmage all the way back to the other side of the field and almost made a tackle on a running back for a loss and actually stopped him before he got to the 1st down. I remember live, you can't really see it, but then when you watch it him on film, not many people on this earth can make a play like that.
Q. There's obviously a lot more that goes into playing quarterback than just playing. Where does your leadership come from? How would you describe your leadership? What kind of role models have you had?
JAXSON DART: Yeah, I'm huge on making relationships with my teammates. I want to know everybody's story and I want to get to know them as the people that they are. I think as a leader, to really get buy-in from your teammates, you have to have that. I think that when you're able to also come to work every single day with the mindset of consistency and discipline where your teammates and the guys around you know that you're going to show up and handle your business at an elite level, I think that that can be a great example.
But I think it definitely starts with building that relationship and that connection so they can trust you and you can trust them and make everybody around you better.
Q. Who were some of the role models you had early on?
JAXSON DART: I think early on when I was at USC Drake London was a great leader. When I was at Ole Miss, another receiver that I had, Trey Harris, was a great leader. Mingo was a great leader. I played with a lot of really elite players. I think that I've been able to take bits and pieces from all of them.
Q. How surprised were you to be the second quarterback taken in this draft? Did you kind of expect it? How did you expect it to unfold? And then the way fans are going to look at it, some people will say, we could have taken Shedeur Sanders. There's going to be a comparison there. How do you handle that moving forward?
JAXSON DART: Quite honestly, this is kind of what I expected. I think as a competitor, you see yourself as the best anytime that you're going to step on the field. I think if you don't see it that way, then especially as a quarterback, the team is not going to believe in you at the highest level.
I didn't want to make any expectations going into it because you really never know what's going to happen in the draft, and I couldn't be more grateful to be in the position that I am. I'm not really thinking of it that way. I'm more focused on really being able to make relationships with my teammates now and trying to take things to the next level.
Q. You played in Los Angeles, you played in the SEC. How has that prepared you for being in New York, just playing in a big market and in a conference like that?
JAXSON DART: Yeah, I would say the SEC is probably the most elite conference in college football, and I think for me, I was able to play at a high level and I was able to experience a high media platform in college, and I think that's going to be a good transition for me to come here.
I feel like I'm just ready for this.
DraftScripts by ASAP Sports
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports