Jaxson Dart Learned Big Lip Reading Lesson During Rookie NFL Season

Jaxson Dart was one of the NFL's most impressive rookies during the 2025 season. The New York Giants quarterback set franchise and league records and is a contender for the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.

Now, the 22-year-old signal caller heads into a pivotal offseason, his first as a pro. Dart is firmly entrenched as the Giants' starter as he prepares to play under new head coach John Harbaugh.

“I think this is a really big offseason for me," he told Men's Journal Thursday. "It’s Year 2, taking another step, right? We have a new coach, a new coaching staff, so making sure that we have really good communication, making sure that I’m as caught up as I can be and get the playbook down. There’s a lot going into this offseason that I have to prepare for and make sure I’m on my p’s and q’s when the time comes.

"But it’s also really an exciting time, because I know how many guys that we have coming back who are going to be healthy for next season. I know the excitement within the organization. I know that we’re going to change things around.”

Yes Bueno, No Bueno

Dart has racked up no shortage of endorsement deals in his short time in the NFL, including a new one as part of Kinder Bueno's Super Bowl ad campaign and partnership with Betches.

As far his rookie season went, Dart, who still snacks on Kinder Bueno bars when he's indulging his sweet tooth, says he had his share of "Yes Bueno" and "No Bueno" moments.

“I would say yes bueno would be my first start against the Chargers. That was just a really cool experience, getting your first NFL start at home against a really good team and coming out with a win " he explained. "The other one was probably the Philly game. That was the only show on TV that night. It was just a ton of fun to go out there on Thursday night and compete with the guys.”

“I would say the no buenos would be really just all the games that we lost at the very end  when teams came back," Dart added. "But a lot of those are going to be learning experiences for me and the team, making sure that those don’t happen again. When you’re in those tight games and you’re not able to close it out, it definitely stings and hurts.”

Lip readers provide Dart a lesson learned

As a quarterback in the NFL's largest market, Dart is used to being in the spotlight. But while enjoying his alma mater Ole Miss' College Football Playoff semifinal appearance earlier this month, Dart learned there are eyes on him, even when he least expects it.

ESPN cameras showed Dart on the sideline, and lip readers watching at home thought they caught him leaking who the Giants' next head coach was going to be. The moment went viral.

“I think that’s a good example for me going forward that in those public settings, I should probably cover my mouth when I’m talking over important information,” Dart said, laughing. “That was no bueno, when it got out.”

Looking back, Dart says there was no doubt in his mind he wanted Harbaugh to land the job.

“Obviously, when you saw Harbaugh and that all go down in Baltimore, I think every team in the league just had a ton of notice," Dart said. "He has an overwhelming amount of respect of him just being a winner. That’s who I wanted to play for. I was just hoping it was going to work out. There’s no other coach, going forward, that I’d rather give my all to, and I know the team feels the exact same way.”

New OC still up in the air

Todd Monken, who had been Harbaugh's offensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens, was the No. 1 target to fill that role in New York. However, the Cleveland Browns tabbed Monken as their new head coach, forcing Harbaugh to go back to the drawing board.

There's no shortage of second options, and the pressure is on Harbaugh to get the hire right. Dart maintains he has faith in his coach and the process though.

"We all are in communication, so that’s been great," Dart said. "The coaching carousel is just crazy. There’s been a lot of unexpected things that happened when it comes to different jobs. You’ve just got to be prepared. I know Coach Harbaugh is. We’ve got some big roles to fill when it comes to a coaching standpoint. I know they’re going to take it obviously very seriously and diligently how they go about this whole process. I know they’re going to their best job to put our team in the best situation. I have an overwhelming amount of trust in them.”

What's on tap this offseason?

Regardless of who his new offensive coordinator will be, Dart knows his own personal development over the next few months is critical.

This is his first NFL offseason, and he's already mapping out his plan to improve for his second campaign.

"It’s definitely very different right now than it was last year," Dart said. "I think last year was probably the longest year of my life, just going from one thing to the next. You don’t really have time to take a breath. It was also a huge blessing at the same time, but I think this one will be really good just to hone in on the things that I feel like I need to improve on for this season.

"I think that starts with making adjustments, whether it may be calls at the line of scrimmage, looks that I haven’t seen before until I got to the NFL. Making sure that I have those down and I’m able to make the proper adjustments during a play and during a series based on tendencies.”

There's still time to have some fun though

Dart and his girlfriend, influencer/model Marissa Ayers, just got back from a vacation in Los Cabos, where the pair soaked up the sun and did a little deep sea fishing.

An avid outdoorsman, Dart reeled in a massive yellowfin tuna while on the trip, an accomplishment that spread across social media when it was shared by charter operator Felipe Valdez.

"Being from Utah and spending a lot of time in Mississippi, I haven’t really been on the water in the deep sea," Dart said. "So this was an opportunity for me to get out there and catch some fish that I haven’t really had the type of experience catching.”

Valdez cautioned Dart that his first big catch could take 45 minutes to reel in, but the competitive QB was determined to beat that time.

“I think it took me like 18 [minutes] to get in on the first one," Dart said. "The second one hit shortly after and that one took me like a little bit over an hour to get in. You just have a ton of respect for those animals and it was a really cool experience.”