Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart Scouting Profile: The quarterback prospect who could be the steal of the 2025 NFL Draft

Jaxson Dart, NFL Draft, Ole Miss, Giants, Jets
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Every year, NFL Draft analysts become enamored by a handful of mid-round draft prospects. Some of them get over-drafted as a result, taken much earlier than their projection. The Chiefs trading up to take Patrick Mahomes 10th overall in 2017 is a great example. Other prospects fall down draft boards, only to get stolen later on, like Lamar Jackson going 32nd overall in 2018.

One polarizing quarterback could be the steal of the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft. Ole Miss’s Jaxson Dart is currently projected as a Day 2 prospect, yet, some mock drafts and analysts have him going as early as the first round, while others have him going as late as the fifth round.

In this article, I’m going to be taking a look at Dart, detailing why his draft stock is so varied, and why he could end up being that steal of a prospect that a team falls in love with and develops into a top quarterback at the next level.

The 2025 quarterback class is a weaker group

The 2025 draft class is not the strongest quarterback group, especially when compared to the 2024 class. Cam Ward and Sheduer Sanders are the only two quarterbacks currently projected to go in the first round.

Shedeur Sanders, Giants, NFL Draft
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Dart has been getting some buzz as the potential QB3 in this class, but some boards have him as QB5 or lower.

Because this class is considered weak, NFL franchises might opt to wait on the quarterback position, causing Dart and other prospects to tumble down the board. 

This has happened before in weaker classes, like the 2023 class, which saw Bryce Young and CJ Stroud go off the board early while Will Levis fell into the second round despite many mock drafts having him as a top-5 pick.

Something similar happened last year with Spencer Rattler. After the top 6 quarterbacks flew off the board in the first 12 selections of the first round, Rattler dropped all the way into the fifth round despite having a second or third-round projection leading up to the draft.

Jaxson Dart has that second/third-round projection right now, like Rattler had last year. But year to year, teams are placing more value on first-round quarterbacks and far less value on the mid-round guys. This could cause Dart to fall into a later round like Rattler did.

NFL teams may reach on quarterbacks in a weak draft class

However, that same lack of quarterback in this draft talent could be the exact reason that Dart goes earlier than expected. In a scarce class, quarterback-needy teams might get desperate, causing them to reach on a prospect from that second tier of quarterbacks. 

NCAA Football: Mississippi at Florida, jaxson dart, new york giants
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Some mock drafts have Dart going at the back end of the first round. This could be in large part due to the fifth-year option attached to rookie first-round contracts.

If a team views Dart as a long-term, high-upside, developmental prospect, they might be willing to take him in the first round and stash him behind a veteran quarterback. That fifth-year option then becomes far more important considering Dart’s first season in the league would basically be redshirted.

There is a lot to like about Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart

But why might a team fall in love with Jaxson Dart of all prospects? What features and traits does he possess that could cause an NFL team to buy in and view him as a future starter?

Dart lit it up in the SEC

For one, Dart put up ridiculous numbers in the SEC this season, a conference that breeds top NFL talents. At the start of the 2024 NFL training camp, 30 of the 116 quarterbacks on active rosters played in the SEC. 439 players from SEC schools were on 2024 NFL rosters. The conference features more NFL talent than any other, which is why NFL teams value quarterbacks who succeed in the SEC. 10 SEC quarterbacks made starts in the NFL this season (eight if you remove Oklahoma prospects) which led the league.

Dart threw for 4,279 yards this season with a 69.3% completion rate and a 29-6 TD-INT ratio in the SEC. His 180.7 passer rating led the nation, as did his 11.53 air-yard per attempt.

Top Strength: Deep-Passing Accuracy

Those air yards per attempt Segway perfectly into Dart’s top strength as a prospect: his deep passing accuracy and aggression when throwing downfield.

Jaxson Dart, Giants, Jets, NFL Draft
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According to Pro Football Focus, 22.1% of Dart’s passes this season came on 20+ yard attempts. He went 37 of 88, completing 42.0% of those attempts with a 47.7% adjusted completion rate for 1,517 yards (which led the country), 17 touchdowns, and only four interceptions. PFF credited him with 25 Big Time Throws which ranked fifth in the country and third in the draft class. PFF also credited him with only six Turnover Worthy Plays when throwing deep.

Dart has great touch on his passes, allowing him to layer his throws downfield and drop footballs into buckets. He throws a pretty deep ball and aggressively reads from high to low, which NFL teams will view as a major selling point for Dart as a prospect. He also has one of the strongest arms in the draft class, throwing with a ton of velocity over the middle of the field and in the deep portions.

Top Strength: Clean Mechanics

Another positive for Dart is his passing mechanics. When in rhythm, he has a clean throwing motion with little wasted motion and a married lower and upper body. When Dart has a clean pocket and can get his feet set, he has clean mechanics that allow him to quickly trigger his release and zip the ball to his target with accuracy.

Top Strength: Mobility, Athleticism, and Experience

Dart also has solid athleticism and mobility. Defenses won’t need to game plan to slow Dart down as a runner, but they will absolutely need to account for his legs and frequently leave QB spies on the field to prevent the scramble drill. Dart likes to go off script and make plays outside of the pocket, which his plus athleticism allows him to do.

Jaxson Dart, Giants, Jets, NFL Draft
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At 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, Dart has decent size for the position and his mobility plus ability to throw on the run give him a prototypical playing style for the modern NFL. He can extend plays and knows when to use velocity or touch on his passes. There’s a lot to like with Dart and his skill set.

Also, Dart has three seasons of starting experience at Ole Miss and improved in every facet of his game every year. That progression and development are important for teams to consider. Also important is Dart’s age. He is only 21 years old despite his full four seasons spent in the NCAA. That will make him one of the youngest quarterbacks in the draft class, giving him a higher ceiling and plenty of room and time to continue to grow.

A few key weaknesses give Dart plenty of room to grow

However, there are obvious reasons why Dart is not projected to go in the first round of this year’s draft. For one, playing at Ole Miss has him running a symplistic, quarterback-friendly offensive scheme. It is not a pro-style offense and runs a heavy dosage of collegiate concepts that are otherwise foreign at the NFL level. Dart’s lack of experience playing in a pro-style offense will make him a project at the next level.

Jaxson Dart, Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss, NFL Draft
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Dart wasn’t asked to do much pre-snap and post-snap reading of defenses and coverages. While at times he did flash an ability to get through his progressions, he primarily relied on his first read in a quick-passing attack orchestrated by Lane Kiffin.

When asked to get to his next read, sometimes Dart is late getting there, throwing the ball a tick off schedule, which results in incompletions at the collegiate level but could result in interceptions in the NFL. Speeding up Dart’s processing and teaching him to get through his reads will be a tough challenge for an NFL team. However, it is his biggest, most glaring weakness, and if corrected, it could be the skill that sparks Dart’s growth into a legitimate starting quarterback.

Dart is one of the 2025 NFL Draft’s most intriguing prospects

The bottom line on Jaxson Dart, he is a highly accomplished SEC quarterback prospect with the tools and traits that NFL teams look for in a potential starter. He can be tough to evaluate because of the offense that he played in. However, that gives Dart plenty of upside. If he is able to pick up an NFL offensive scheme, receive proper coaching, and develop in the right system, Dart does have the tools, traits, and passing accuracy to be a starter in the right situation.

He is a developmental prospect who should not be asked to start as a rookie. But with time, Dart could absolutely develop into a starter one day. But how high his ceiling reaches will largely depend on a team’s ability to develop his ability to read defenses and process route progressions.

Dart is worth taking a flier on and, if he has those abilities unlocked, he could wind up being the steal of the 2025 NFL Draft.

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