25 Days to the NFL draft: Could Jaxson Dart be picked ahead of Shedeur Sanders?

About USA TODAY Sports’ 30 Days to the NFL draft series, which started March 25: Every five days, we will focus on a unique aspect of the 2025 draft, which is April 24-26.

ESPN’s Louis Riddick is among the smartest of all NFL analysts. He’s a former NFL player, NFL team executive and all brains. Occasionally, I go to him when I need something explained like I’m a first grader. My question to Riddick this time: Why are so many people suddenly enthralled (at least seemingly so) with Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart? Who is this dude and why am I hearing so much about him?

Few players this year have climbed faster up draft boards (hate that phrase but here we are) than Dart. Unless you’re an Ole Miss fan, or a hardcore draft expert, the entire Dart phenomenon is puzzling. Dart seems, you know, OK. Not a special player. Certainly not a first rounder. Or even a second rounder. At least, to me.

This is where Riddick comes in. This is why he thinks teams like Dart.

“He is a great leader, tough and competitive as hell,” Riddick told USA TODAY Sports, “has a high degree of football intelligence.”

More: Shedeur Sanders set record for accuracy in college. Will that matter in NFL draft?

“He can throw with accuracy,” Riddick said, “can buy time in the pocket/make things happen as a runner at an (above) average success rate.”

So I’m starting to understand.

Then Riddick said this.

“But he is streaky and does not have elite traits in any one area.”

Riddick would later add while talking about Dart on an ESPN show that he didn’t believe the quarterback should be in the top 10 overall conversation.

But I continue to hear from team officials that I trust that Dart could go high in the draft, maybe as high as the top 10. I’ve heard some teams like him better than Shedeur Sanders. Which is absolutely insane. Yet that seems to be the case. I’m not reporting this as an insider. It’s bits and pieces here and there. And sure, it’s always lying season around NFL draft time. Still, I believe it. This is why I reached out to Riddick.

One ESPN analyst wrote: “I’ve heard he’s actually the second-best QB on some teams’ boards. That bodes well for his first round potential. Pairing Dart with Rams coach Sean McVay and allowing him to sit and develop behind Matthew Stafford for multiple seasons in L.A. would be the best-case scenario for him.”

The second-best QB on some teams’ boards.

Do you understand how bonkers that is? But again, I’ve been hearing the same thing.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said the Giants and Browns have both spent extensive time with Dart. Rapoport believes Dart could go late in the first round.

“We focus so much on (pick) No. 3 and (pick) No. 2 and, ‘What are the Browns gonna do?’ and ‘What are the Giants gonna do?’ in the first round,” explained Rapoport. “The second round picks get just as interesting … at 33 or 34, which is what the Giants and Browns have. Both those two teams can leap up a couple spots … and maybe snag that third quarterback in the first round.”

“Jaxson Dart … has, in fact, spent extensive time with the Browns, with the Giants, and some others who are trying to learn (about) him and trying to figure out where he slots in. Even if those teams don’t take a quarterback in (round) one, there is a chance they can leap up and take one a little later in one.”

This all coincides with emerging reporting about Sanders. Another ESPN writer, Jeremy Fowler, said on Saturday he texted with a half-dozen team executives, and asked if they have a first-round grade on Sanders. Fowler explained four said no, and two said yes.

Again, this could all be a smokescreen. That’s always possible. It just doesn’t seem like it is.

There are several reasons why Dart’s name is rising.

First, he has ability. Dart was first-team All-SEC in 2024 while leading the team to a 10-2 record. He threw for 4,279 yards and 29 touchdowns.

In the team’s Gator Bowl victory over Duke in January, Dart completed 77.1% of his passes for 404 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. Ole Miss won, 52-20.

Dart also has something teams are increasingly looking for in their QBs: mobility.

Second, in relation to Sanders (and this is important), some teams believe Sanders comes with heavy baggage. They think the Sanders family is a reality show and want no part of it.

Shedeur has been nothing but professional his entire college career. He’s mature far beyond his years. It would probably stay that way once he got to the NFL. Also, if you’re an NFL coach or front-office executive who is afraid of a strong personality, then you’re in the wrong profession.

Dart will be one of the most interesting players to watch in this draft. Will he get selected ahead of Sanders?

Probably not.

But it’s getting interesting.

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