Jaxson Dart’s path to New York had a small Schoen family connection before he ever became a Giant. Joe Schoen’s daughter, Sydney, was a student at Ole Miss while Dart was the Rebels’ quarterback. The Giants GM was even careful about his trips to Oxford during the 2024 season, knowing his daughter was there and not wanting his staff to think the school visits had anything to do with her. 

But Sydney’s connection to Dart did not end in Oxford. When her father’s Giants traded back into the first round in 2025 and selected the Ole Miss quarterback at No. 25, she reposted Dart’s own message welcoming him to New York.

Two days after J.J. McCarthy became a Giant, Sydney Schoen shared the trade on her Instagram Story. Her caption was brief: “ifykyk.”

The reference went back to another quarterback her father had evaluated. In 2024, the Giants held the No. 6 pick after Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye were off the board. McCarthy was still available, and New York had met with him multiple times during the pre-draft process. The Giants ultimately took LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers, while Minnesota selected McCarthy at No. 10.

Per ESPN, the Giants needed a quarterback at the time and were linked to McCarthy. Their interest in the QB was “real,” and he was “impressive,” insider Jordan Raanan wrote. And, according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post, the Giants had scouted McCarthy ahead of the 2024 draft. However, he was reportedly only graded as a second-round pick.

But wide receiver was also a position of need, and there was the question of former Giants QB Daniel Jones.

The franchise had signed Jones to a four-year contract extension in 2023. With Jones still in place, New York chose to address its need at receiver rather than use the pick on a quarterback. The Athletic mentioned that if the Giants chose to stick with Jones, a wide receiver became a priority, as they hadn’t had a good one since Odell Beckham Jr.

Nabers quickly justified the hype he had created, catching 109 passes for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie. McCarthy, meanwhile, missed his entire rookie season because of a knee injury before starting 10 games for Minnesota in 2025.

He went 6-4 in those starts, throwing for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. There was hope McCarthy would do better this year. But after the Vikings brought in Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz to the team, the young QB fell behind on the depth chart.

Once touted to be a franchise QB, McCarthy had been relegated to backup duties only in his third year in the NFL.

He will get a chance at redemption in New York, but not right away. With Jaxson Dart unavailable, Jameis Winston started for the Giants against the Tennessee Titans.

Giants head coach John Harbaugh has confirmed that Winston will start against the Arizona Cardinals.

“Jameis is starting,” Harbaugh said. “He’s our starting quarterback, and that’s how we’re rolling.”

That means McCarthy’s immediate role is still unclear, but his arrival gives the Giants another former first-round quarterback while Dart recovers.

McCarthy also has a connection to the Giants’ new coaching staff. He played under Jim Harbaugh, John’s brother, at Michigan and helped the Wolverines win the 2023 National Championship. John Harbaugh acknowledged that connection after the trade.

“[Jim] always had good things to say about JJ,” Harbaugh said. “I mean, I kind of watched it. I was following Michigan when Jim was coaching there.”

Meanwhile, former Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell described McCarthy’s departure as an emotional moment and said the trade did not change his feelings about the young quarterback.

“Today’s a tough day. Nothing about this changes the way I feel about J.J. or the hopes I have for him,” O’Connell said. “I think it’s a good opportunity in New York. As I told him, I’ll be pulling for him like crazy.”

For Schoen, McCarthy’s arrival brings back a draft decision that has followed the Giants since 2024. New York chose Nabers over the quarterback then. Now, after Dart’s injury and McCarthy’s difficult run in Minnesota, the two paths have crossed again in East Rutherford.