Tom Landry

Tom Landry's Giants days were all about picking off passes—32 picks in 80 games as a shutdown DB—while Jaxson Dart's out there slinging it as the current starter, chasing that first real splash. Landry built a defensive empire that paved his way to coaching immortality with two Super Bowls; Dart's still sketching his first chapter, no Lombardi-level blueprint yet.

Nah, Tom Landry never made it to Canton as a player—his Giants QB stints were rough, like a 5.05 passer rating and just 172 yards lifetime. Hall Fame nod came for his coaching genius, two Super Bowl rings with Dallas, 20 straight winning seasons. Player Landry? Solid DB with 32 picks, but no bust waiting in Ohio.

Landry the player? Modern pass-happy rules with no chuck-and-duck defenses would bury his 23% completion rate and punting gigs—think 40.9-yard boots getting nullified by quicker cadences. But drop him in as a crafty DB inventing the flex defense? He'd feast on confused pocket passers, turning picks into scores like his three TD returns back in the day.

Both Giants lifers at QB, but Landry's arm was a stone-cold 5.05 rating over sparse snaps, more halfback threat with picks on the flip side, while Eli's 59.81 lit up two Super Bowls against Brady's bunch. Landry's real wizardry was scheming defenses; Eli just needed to not implode—two franchise saviors, worlds apart in the huddle.