EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Jaxson Dart says there is "always a chip on your shoulder" when a situation unfolds as it did in this year's NFL draft, when he thought there was a possibility the New Orleans Saints would take him with the ninth pick.
The Saints passed on Dart, however, and the New York Giants ultimately traded back into the first round to select the Ole Miss quarterback with the 25th pick. New Orleans selected Louisville's Tyler Shough in the second round with the 40th pick.
Dart and the Giants (1-3) play in New Orleans on Sunday after beating the Los Angeles Chargers last weekend in the rookie's first career start.
"There is always a chip on your shoulder any time something like that happens," Dart said of how the draft unfolded with the Saints. "But yeah, I'm just going to go out there and play as hard as I can."
New Orleans was one of the teams interested in Dart, who had multiple visits with the Saints throughout the predraft process. Dart's impression was that his time with the Saints went well, and he thought there was a realistic chance he could end up in New Orleans.
"Yeah, I felt like my visit with them went good," Dart said Wednesday. "You kind of have thoughts in your head about what options are realistic, and I felt that was a place that could've panned out. But things didn't work out that way."
The Saints took starting left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. with the ninth pick in the draft, much like the Giants selected Abdul Carter with their top selection at No. 3 before addressing the quarterback position.
But the Giants were the more aggressive team by jumping back into the back end of the first round. Dart told people immediately after the draft that New York was his first choice. Nothing that has happened since has made him flinch.
"I love it here. There's not a place that I'd rather be," he said. "I love just how passionate people are outside the facility, in the facility. I like the attitude the East Coasters have. It's a lot of fun. So I love it."
Dart's first start was a success. He helped produce the Giants' first win of the season, passing for 111 yards with a score and rushing for another 54 yards and a touchdown. The rookie was pleased with what he saw on tape but knows there are areas to improve.
He also took 17 hits on runs and passes, second among quarterbacks last week behind only Minnesota's Carson Wentz. Dart played through a hamstring injury and was checked at one point for a concussion.
But he was a full participant in practice Wednesday and said he felt good even though he had the back of his left leg taped during the portion of the workout open to the media. By the end of the practice, he had a compression sleeve on the leg. The issue is not expected to keep him from playing Sunday against the Saints.
"I ran the ball a lot in college. There were definitely times in college where my body felt it after games. It's just football," he said. "You're not always going to feel 100 percent after the game.
"But we have a really good training staff here. We have a lot of assets to use to make sure our bodies are ready for the next week. These last few days have been really crucial for me in making sure I'm on the right track and 100 percent for Sunday."
Dart said he didn't regret any of the hits he took running the football. His self-critique was mostly about his footwork, being too slow in his progressions and holding the ball too long on a few sacks. He believes that led to the biggest hits.
The swinging stiff-arm he tried to use on Chargers defensive back Cam Hart was the one play he'd like to have back.
"Maybe that's not the smartest with my throwing hand," Dart said.
He then joked: "I didn't really like the way he was looking at me."
The Giants don't seem overly concerned about the number of hits Dart took Sunday, his health or the Saints' predraft interest in him. They're more concerned about the challenge of playing in a difficult road environment.
"Offensively, we're going to have to do a good job of communicating," coach Brian Daboll said, "from getting the play in, to Jaxson communicating, to whatever snap counts we choose to use relative to how the sounds are there, which is usually loud. You simulate it and try to do the best you can here at practice, but it's definitely one of the keys in terms of being able to communicate and operate and stay on track and eliminate some of the pre-snap things that when you play in a dome stadium that's loud like this.
"So we're going to work at it out here, blasting it as loud as we can, and just make sure we're on point with our communication."