New York Giants Week 1 Starting QB Odds: Predictions & Breakdown

The months of May-July would be a true bore for NFL fans if not for the training camp quarterback competition. This year, we’ve got a few intriguing races, some of which have more than two guys that have a real shot at winning the job.

Depending on who you ask, that could be the case for the New York Giants. They brought in two veterans in Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, but they also traded up to take a QB in the first round of the draft in Jaxson Dart. Wilson is the prohibitive favorite right now on most NFL betting sites, but we’re still gonna take a closer look at this QB competition in the Big Apple.

New York Giants Week 1 Starting QB Odds: Predictions & Breakdown

All odds provided by Betway.

The Prohibitive Favorite: Russell Wilson (-1,600)

Russell Wilson took over the starting job for the Pittsburgh Steelers midway through the 2024 season and started off hot. He went 6-1 and turned a boring Steelers offense into a juggernaut. But only for that month and a half. Wilson lost the plot over the last month of the year, losing the final five games and the belief of the Steelers organization.

Pittsburgh was clearly not interested in bringing Wilson back, so he signed with the Giants. However, it was clear that Wilson was not New York’s first choice either, as they waited a couple of weeks after free agency opened to make their move on Wilson. His one-year, $10.5 million deal didn’t scream starting QB either, even with an additional $10 million in incentives.

However, Giants head coach Brian Daboll did say that Wilson would be the starter “once we get started here in the spring”. That means Wilson will have to be toppled from his perch, but Daboll did only say Wilson was the starter going into OTAs, not for Week 1 specifically just yet.

There is a lot to suggest that the team isn’t excited with Wilson as the starter, but it does seem they are taking the cautious approach here. Wilson is the prohibitive favorite for a reason, even if we think the odds betting apps are giving him are way shorter than they should be. Obviously, unless these odds change, a bet on Wilson is far from worthwhile even if he’s the likely winner of this race.

The Long Shots: Jaxson Dart (+1,400) and Jameis Winston (+1,600)

Wilson’s crazy odds as the favorite do open the door for a dart throw bet on one of the long shots. Pun intended. They signed Jameis Winston to a two-year deal after signing Wilson, then traded significant draft capital to move up and take Jaxson Dart in the first round of the draft.

We’re only through minicamp here, but Daboll and the Giants are reportedly already very impressed with Dart. They have already praised both his arm and his leadership abilities, which are very encouraging signs for those fans that don’t want to waste time with Wilson as a lame duck starter.

In the end, the most likely scenario is that Wilson holds onto the job and plays the first few games before outside noise forces the team to move onto the man with the higher potential in Dart.

However, it’s also worth noting that Wilson was in a similar scenario last year in Pittsburgh. Mike Tomlin named Wilson the starter early on in that offseason, but he picked up a calf injury that nagged him for the better part of two months. That allowed Justin Fields to come in and take on the starting job in Week 1.

At 36 years old, that could certainly happen again for Wilson in 2025. And at +1,400 for Dart and +1,600 for Winston, it’s worth taking a shot with a half unit one of them. Our preference would certainly be Dart.