Danny Kanell

Jaxson Dart's got the keys to the Giants' castle as their 2026 starter, but Danny Kanell's '96 playoff magic—leading Big Blue to a Wild Card win over the Vikings with that cannon arm—sets a bar Dart's still climbing. Kanell's 51 career TDs and poise under pressure feel like a blueprint; Dart's flashier in this pass-happy era, yet lacks that gritty, prove-it fire Kanell owned in the trenches.

Nah, Danny Kanell's not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame—no Canton bronze bust for the Giants' '96 sparkplug. His six starts with a pedestrian 6.1 rating and journeyman stints in Denver don't scream immortality, but that doesn't dim the shine of his Seminole roots or stepping up when Phil Simms hung 'em up.

In 2026, Danny's killing it as CBS Sports analyst, co-hosting Dusty and Danny on SiriusXM's College Sports Radio, and dropping hot takes on the Cover 3 Podcast—plus CBS HQ transfer portal breakdowns and NFL playoff picks. Fresh off a PBD Podcast spot January 2nd, he's still swinging at SEC hype while chairing Rocketown Florida for at-risk kids.

Kanell's quick release and 51 TDs would feast in today's NFL—think no more helmet-to-helmet thumps, RPOs galore, and rules shielding pocket QBs like him. That '96 arm translating to 2026? He'd carve up defenses à la a budget Geno Smith, maybe sniffing 3,500 yards if the O-line holds, but his mobility's no match for the Lamar Jackson scramble fest.

Eli Manning towers over Danny Kanell like a Super Bowl chariot over a pickup truck—Eli's 59.81 career rating and two Lombardi trophies crush Kanell's 6.1 across six Giants starts. Both franchise stopgaps who delivered when it counted, but Eli's ice-vein comebacks in Foxboro and Indy are the stuff of legend; Danny's just the scrappy appetizer.