Giants' Mike Kafka doesn't 'have any doubt' Jaxson Dart is a franchise QB

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New York Giants interim head coach Mike Kafka offered glowing praise for rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart on Monday, declaring unequivocally that the young signal-caller has already established himself as the team's franchise quarterback.

"I don't have any doubts about that," Kafka said when asked if he believes Dart is a legitimate NFL franchise quarterback.

Dart, who entered the season as the backup before taking over as a starter, has impressed Kafka with his natural leadership that extends beyond the offense.

"I've seen Jaxson just become more comfortable in that role," Kafka said. "It's not about forcing anything, it's just about being himself and leading the way that he sees it and bringing guys along with him. Those are the qualities that we've seen since the first day he's gotten here."

Kafka noted that Dart's influence has reached the defense, with players there citing his leadership.

"I don't think there's an age requirement for leadership, whether you're young or old or a veteran or one year or one month or however many," Kafka said. "I just think if you have the leadership qualities, if you have the ability to, number one, lead yourself and then lead others, and guys will follow you based on how you operate and how you carry yourself, then I don't think there's necessarily like a prerequisite for that.

"I mean, Jaxson does a great job because he's just being himself and he's controlling what he can control. He's doing all the things that make him great and he's just being himself. He's not trying to be somebody else. He's just his genuine self."

On Dart's development, Kafka highlighted the typical leap from Year 1 to Year 2.

"I think you learn so much faster from year one to year two. You have that full season, you're in the NFL style, you kind of know how things operate. You've built somewhat of a framework of a routine on how you want to prepare yourself," he said. "Now you have time after this season to go through, kind of refine the things that you want, how you want to operate in the offseason, and now you have some time to kind of look back and really dissect yourself and really can make some more steps to improvement."

Kafka, who has coached Dart since his rookie arrival, called him "a pleasure to coach."

"He's been awesome. Learning every single day, absorbing as much information as he can, and then also putting his own fingerprint on things," he said. "You see a player that's continuing to learn from the good, the bad, and then continuing to take steps forward... take ownership and take accountability and hold other guys accountable."

"I'm proud to be working with him and happy for him, and I'm excited to continue to do that," Kafka concluded.

This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Giants' Mike Kafka doesn't 'have any doubt' Jaxson Dart is a franchise QB

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