Jaxson Dart: Is he actually the best QB in the 2025 draft class?
We’re 30 days away from Night 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft and the top picks seem to be set. Miami’s Cam Ward, Penn State’s Abdul Carter, and Colorado’s pair of Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter are popular picks to round out the top four in many recent mock drafts, with Ward solidifying himself after a strong Pro Day.
Ward and Sanders had been going back and forth as QB1 until the Combine, then Ward took control of the first-overall pick conversation. With the top two quarterbacks locked in, seemingly for forever, Ole Miss signal-caller Jaxson Dart quietly settled into the QB3 spot. Dart wasn’t getting much love until a week ago when he started appearing in the first round of many mock drafts.
He deserves your attention because Dart did nothing but improve each year in college. After spending one season at USC he transferred to Ole Miss and became the starter for Lane Kiffin. He improved his passing yards, touchdowns, and completion percentage each of his three seasons in the SEC, leading the conference in 2024 with 4,279 yards and completing 69.3% of his passes. Dart threw 29 touchdowns to just six interceptions last season and led FBS in yards gained per pass attempt (10.8).
He’s more than just a product of Kiffin’s offense. The best parts of his game are his accuracy, anticipation, and competitiveness. More elements of Kiffin’s offense leak into the NFL each year, so anchoring a player to this scheme is a lazy argument. Is he deadly accurate, no, but he’s above-average here and can put the ball in tight windows over the middle. His deep accuracy is better than expected dropping the ball in the bucket, and he has enough arm strength to drive the ball downfield.
A knock on Dart has been his perceived inability to read defenses because of the offensive scheme. I don’t think this argument holds up watching his film as he has many reps going through his progressions to find the backside of plays. He’s also willing to take what the defense gives him. By no means is he a check-down merchant, but he’ll gladly take an in-rhythm seven-yard completion against soft zone where other QBs would try to force a bad throw.
The underrated part of Dart’s game is his ball-carrying. He’s not a blazing fast, elite athlete but he runs with great vision and good enough athleticism to be dangerous at the next level. He’ll lower his shoulder when the situation calls for it, but he’s a smart runner who knows how to protect himself.
As the QB3 in this year’s class, Dart will likely hear his name called later in the first round, probably after Denver at No. 20. Pittsburgh is sitting at No. 21 and could luck into Dart without having to move up if he makes it beyond the Jets at No. 7. Dart is QB3 right now but can be QB1 when this class gets a few years into their NFL careers.
This article originally appeared on Draft Wire: Jaxson Dart: Is he actually the best QB in the 2025 draft class?
| 1d 8:18 AM ET ago |
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