Ad Disclosure
Jaxson Dart receives congratulations from Eli Manning after being drafted by Giants in 1st round
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Jaxson Dart was the second of the New York Giants’ 2 first-round selections in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Twenty-one years ago, another former Ole Miss quarterback great was taken by the Giants in the 1st round: Eli Manning, the first overall pick in 2004. As it turns out, he had a pretty good career in the Big Apple.
And long before Manning suited up for Big Blue, Charle Conerly, a former Rebel signal caller, won a championship with the Giants in 1956.
Dart hopes that he’ll have the same success. He received a word of congratulations from Manning after being drafted.
“I’m not going to sit here and tell you what a great organization the Giants are. It won’t take you long to figure that out by yourself,” Manning said. “It’s been an honor and a lot of fun rooting for you these past three years at Ole Miss, and I look forward to rooting for you for the Giants for the next 15 years. Congratulations, pal. See you soon.”
Dart commented on the “special” relationship he and Manning developed during the former’s time at Ole Miss after transferring from USC.
“Eli’s been a huge role model of mine since, geez, for a while, even before I got to Ole Miss,” he said. “So just the relationship that I was able to make with him was truly unique in my time at Ole Miss, and I couldn’t be more grateful to have him in my corner and then following his footsteps as well as Charlie’s.”
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
