Dart is in San Francisco for the “NFL Honors” awards show, which airs Thursday (9 p.m. ET on NBC and NFL Network, with streaming available on Peacock and NFL+) from the Palace of Fine Arts.
Dart is a finalist for Associated Press NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. His defensive counterpart, Abdul Carter, is also a nominee on the other side of the ball.
“A lot of us are going to be players who make a ton of plays in this league for a really long time,” Dart said of his fellow finalists. “It’s an exciting time, and I’m honored to be a part of it.”
Dart led all rookies with 24 total touchdowns, but 2025 didn’t come without its adversity. Brian Daboll, his head coach, was dismissed 10 games into the season. Meanwhile, Cam Skattebo and Malik Nabers, his close friends and top playmakers, were sidelined for most of the year due to serious injuries.
“This past year, I feel like it was like three years into one,” Dart said. “It was just kind of a whirlwind of things that you go through from one thing to the next.”
Dart made sure to give a shoutout to Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, who shed their wisdom on how to get through the tough times.
“I think the biggest lesson I learned was just patience and just being able to weather storms of adversity,” Dart said.
The frigid winter will turn to spring in East Rutherford, where players will report back sometime in April. Eventually, Dart will get on the field again with Nabers, who broke the franchise’s single-season reception record as a rookie only to see his sophomore campaign end in Week 4.
It was the home game against the Chargers where Dart made his first start and Nabers tore his ACL.
“Leek’s a dawg, just in simple terms to describe him,” Dart said. “He’s somebody who just has a huge chip on his shoulder, and I think he’s the best receiver in the league. So, when he gets out there rolling, I can’t wait to get him that rock and watch him just go ball and be back in the game that he loves. I know these injuries, it takes a big toll on us and especially him just because of the competitor [he is] and how much he loves this game. I know that when he gets back out there, he’s going to be a huge difference-maker for us and he’s going to be so special. I can’t wait to get him that rock for sure.”
