The 2025 NFL Draft is known not to be a strong year for quarterback talent, and many scouts are not high on either Miami’s Cam Ward or Colorado’s Sheduer Sanders. Still, the consensus belief is they will go early in the first round as there are a lot of franchises that are desperate for a young franchise quarterback. After those two are off the board, the consensus third quarterback to get selected is Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart. Some in the media, including ESPN, have pushed Dart into the first round of mock drafts. However, after surveying ten teams, nine of them had Dart as a day two pick at best. Only one source, an AFC general manager, thought Dart would go in the first round.
“Hell no,” texted an NFC area scout. “I don’t see it personally. His size and arm are ordinary. He’s a decent athlete, but he’s not scaring anybody in the NFL into spying him, or planning outside of structure. That offensive system specifically has yet to generate a high end NFL QB. I get he’s some PFF darling, but so are all the quarterbacks coming out of that scheme in general, and none turn out to be top-half NFL starters, let alone quality backups.”
In 2024, Dart completed 69 percent of his passes for 4,279 yards with 29 touchdowns and six interceptions. The majority of the team evaluators had Dart as a third-rounder but said he could go in the second round. Teams like his instincts, toughness, and competitiveness. However, they feel he lacks pocket presence, can be reckless with the ball, and does not have special physical talent. Some compared him to Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew. One NFC director of player personnel said their team had him lower heading into the combine. He texted, “We had him as a fourth-rounder, maybe a third by the draft.”
Some of the sources think that projections of Dart in the first round are driven by the media and/or agent-driven. One AFC director of college scouting said in response to Dart being a legit first-round prospect, “No. Dart has some ability, but his epic meltdown against Florida says a lot about his mental toughness.”
In my latest 2025 NFL Mock Draft, I have Dart going to a team in desperate need of a long-term starter, but I heed the advice of team evaluators with a projection of Dart going on day two.
