It takes a lot to surprise Archie Manning, the legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback, and an OM alumnus himself, from his rookie counterpart. And that was just the warm-up. Because while Archie heaped praise on former Ole Miss Rebels QB1 Jaxson Dart, he also offered a carefully worded warning, one shaped by decades of experience and, perhaps, memories of watching his son, Giants’ Eli Manning, go through the wringer in the same city.
Archie spent time with Jaxson Dart last week in New York, and as someone who knows both the burden and blessing of playing in the Big Apple, he didn’t sugarcoat the challenge. “Jaxson played a lot of football at Ole Miss, a lot of good football, won a lot of games. And I was just excited for him to be drafted in the first round, and particularly the New York Giants, who, you know, we like the Giants. He’s a good guy, good player. You know, he’s very smart.”
He continued, “He’s very smart. And it probably served him well not to get thrown in right away. You know, the Giants aren’t world beaters right now. But I think any indication [of] what kind of person he was and the way he worked and played at Ole Miss, I think he can be successful.” Coming from the man who led the Saints through the storm and raised two Super Bowl-winning sons, those aren’t empty words—they’re gospel in quarterback country.
And it’s no small deal that Jaxson Dart now shares a slice of history with Archie and Eli. When he heard his name called on draft night. Dart officially joined the Mannings as the only three Ole Miss QBs to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. Even more impressively, Dart passed Eli Manning in the school record books before his departure, cementing his name among the most productive QBs in Rebel history. Not bad for a guy who arrived from USC with questions swirling, only to leave with a legacy that fits neatly into the Manning family scrapbook.
“I was excited for Jaxson to be drafted in the first round, particularly to the New York Giants.”
Ole Miss legend Archie Manning spent time with Jaxson Dart in New York last week after Dart joined Archie and Eli Manning as the only Rebel QBs to ever be drafted in the 1st round: pic.twitter.com/EGJKNMwwfT
— Matt DeGregorio (@Matt_DeGregorio) June 28, 2025
Of course, the QB factory in Oxford doesn’t operate in a vacuum. Archie also weighed in on Lane Kiffin. The architect behind Dart’s development—and didn’t hide his admiration, even if Kiffin’s approach might’ve been alien during Archie’s heyday. “Kind of going about it a little different,” Manning said. “Coach Kiffin is kind of the king of the portal. A lot of changes, but that’s what he chooses to do. Can’t argue with the number of football games he’s winning.” Spoken like a man who understands the game’s evolution, even if he never imagined a future where players swapped jerseys like sneakers.
There’s plenty to back up Archie’s take. While OM may have finished with the No. 4 transfer portal class for 2025 (its lowest in three years). It’s still comfortably in the upper tier. Kiffin’s reputation isn’t just about volume; it’s about precision. All eight of the Rebels drafted in 2025 were transfer players. That’s not a fluke. That’s strategy. That’s culture.
And it’s no coincidence that the guy who just etched his name beside two Mannings was a Kiffin pickup. Jaxson Dart flourished in a system that let him stretch the field, make NFL throws, and lead a locker room shaped more by belief than bio pages.
Jaxson Dart is already turning heads as the Giants’ QB plan quietly shifts
If you thought the New York Giants were in a patient, wait-and-see mode with Jaxson Dart, you might want to squint a little harder. Despite bringing in Russell Wilson to steady the ship with his 36-year-old savvy, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the Giants may not be content keeping Dart on ice for long. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah isn’t buying the full-vet plan either.
“Everything I’ve read about Dart seems to be pretty positive,” Jeremiah said on The Rich Eisen Show. “I think he’s got a chance to play pretty darn early here. We’ll see how it goes.” And while that might’ve sounded like typical analyst optimism a few months ago, things have started to line up in Dart’s favor.
For starters, reports out of minicamp suggest Dart is already leapfrogging Jameis Winston on the depth chart. That doesn’t happen by accident—not in June, not in Brian Daboll’s offense. The coach seems to have that same glint in his eye for Dart. “You just kind of listen to the words of Brian Daboll, and you get the sense that [Dart] was his guy. He’s invested in him. He seems to really, really like him,” Jeremiah added. “It sounds a little different, the way he’s talking about [Dart].”
If this trend keeps up, it may not be Wilson’s huddle for long. Dart’s trajectory is picking up speed.
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