NEW YORK — Russell Wilson went on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” this week. He got his picture taken wearing sunglasses in New York City for a Sports Illustrated digital cover and feature.

The Giants’ projected starting quarterback is taking full advantage of signing a one-year contract with a franchise in a major market that has nowhere to go but up.

If he gets nothing else out of playing here, he is generating unprecedented exposure for his personal brands and initiatives, growing an impressive network that undoubtedly will serve him well when he’s done playing.

For the Giants, though, the team’s spring crowning of Wilson as their 2025 starter and Wilson’s subsequent parade around the Big Apple feel incredibly premature.

Premature because Jameis Winston signed first and is more explosive.

“When it comes to that, I focus on what I can do,” Winston said in June of the dynamic. “And what I can do is come to work with the intention to get better every single day. Not concerning myself with the room, seeing how I can serve the room. But my job is to be the best Jameis Winston that I can be.”

Premature because Wilson is on his fourth team in five years. Premature because Jaxson Dart, the Giants’ first-round rookie draft pick, is the process of working to prove he’s NFL ready.

“I’m gonna prepare like I’m the starter no matter what my role is,” Dart said on the “Talkin’ Ball with Pat Leonard” podcast. “You really never know when your chance is gonna come. My mindset is whenever that comes, I’m gonna be ready for it. I’m not gonna shy from the moment. I’m gonna take advantage of it.”

“But at the same time, the No. 1 thing I care about is winning,” he continued. “I don’t care how much success I may be having. If the team is not winning, it’s not fun. I’m gonna do the best I can to support everyone on the team and compete at the highest level.”

Premature because training camp hasn’t started yet, and Wilson’s standing in the NFL no longer warrants being handed the keys.

He should have to earn them.

The Wilson hype might have been understandable if the Giants had acquired him in 2021, as the Denver Broncos did. At least at the beginning, although Wilson had already begun to decline in Seattle, the Broncos could genuinely sell him as the previous, championship-winning version of himself.

But now, every time Wilson mentions that he won Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium as a selling point, it’s impossible to ignore that the game was played more than a decade ago on Feb. 2, 2014.

It has nothing to do with the version of Wilson playing for the Giants whatsoever. What matters is how he’s playing now.

What should matter, come the start of training camp next week, is whether he outplays Winston and Dart in July and August.

From the Giants’ perspective, there is an argument that crowning Wilson as the Week 1 starter early removed uncertainty. Some of the club’s decision makers view Wilson as a leader, and the organization has positioned him as the singular voice the team will rally behind and follow.

There is absolutely something to be said for creating clear direction. No doubt, the Giants need leadership in the worst way on the field and in the locker room.

Still, there is nothing wrong with competition, either. In fact, Wilson would earn more credibility with teammates if he beat out Winston in a fair fight rather than having the coaches bury Winston on the depth chart and limit his snaps.

Not to mention that Wilson’s version of leadership, in weeks like this, sometimes feels as much like a Russell Wilson promotional tour as it does a championing of the Giants as a team.

What fans want to see is points and wins. The best quarterback, the one who gives the team the most hope, should be the one that starts the Giants’ season opener at the Washington Commanders on Sept. 7.

If Wilson earns that, then it should be him. But not making Wilson beat out Winston and Dart in camp would be disingenuous.

Handing him the job without a challenger would be a decision made with optics prioritized over merit and improvement.

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