Mike Kafka was a 30-year-old assistant coach when he helped prep Patrick Mahomes for his first career start late in the 2017 season.
On Sunday, he’ll be on the headset with New York Giants rookie Jaxson Dart for his starting debut against the Los Angeles Chargers. Kafka has no qualms with putting Dart in the conversation with somebody like Mahomes because of the common trait they share.
“Jaxson has a lot of confidence, and I think that’s good. That’s what you want in a quarterback room,” Kafka said Thursday. “That’s what you want in a quarterback. Swagger, confidence, I think they’re kind of one and the same. How you want to define it, I just think Jaxson has that.”
As the Chiefs did with Mahomes to help his first steps be more comfortable on game day, the Giants are pouring over plays Dart prefers.
The process began not long after the Giants drafted Dart in the first round in April and followed a stair-step progression through preseason games. Rewind those exhibitions and you might be surprised how often Dart’s glare into a defense takes him to reads of the field from the end zone back to the line of scrimmage.
Mahomes’ first career start was at Denver on New Year’s Eve in 2017, the final week of the regular season. He spent the first eight months of his professional career as a backup to Alex Smith.
Mahomes completed 22 of 35 passes for 284 yards with one interception. No. 1 wide receiver Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce were both inactive. Mahomes hit backup tight end Demetrius Harris for a 51-yard completion and largely appeared comfortable in a role he has never forfeited.
Kafka might not be willing to set expectations on Dart’s opening start. But he said he fully supported head coach Brian Daboll’s decision to make the change away from Russell Wilson this week.
“You just see it on a daily basis,” Kafka said. “The preparation, you saw him in the meeting rooms, you see him on the practice field doing the scout team reps and you can really take a lot from that, just how he’s operating as a leader on the team and in the huddle. You’ve obviously got to go out there and play. He did it in the preseason. Now it’s the regular season — every single level, things start speeding up and ramping up for him. But he’s been very productive as a player, and I’m excited to go see him go out there and roll it.”
Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (shoulder) was able to take some reps on Thursday, but hasn’t had extended work with Dart to date.
Kafka believes some of the presumed disconnect has been mitigated by Nabers and other receivers willingly sitting in on QB meetings and film review to make adaptive corrections together.
“We’re all in the same room,” Kafka said of rewatching practice film. “We watch all the same tape. Receivers are talking. Quarterbacks are talking. So there’s a dialog there that at least allows you to be on the same page in terms of seeing it the same way. When we get on the practice field, there’ll be some catching up to do.”
–Field Level Media
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