Jaxson Dart NFL Draft 2025 profile: Full scouting report, pro comparison, landing spots, future outlook, more

Jaxson Dart‘s father, Brandon, played safety for the University of Utah and had high hopes of teaching his sons to play football. Both Jaxson and younger brother, Diesel, did learn the game, but not on defense. 

Jaxson Dart, with a name fit for a quarterback, happened to have a live arm from a young age and earned some high accolades in high school, first at Roy High north of Salt Lake City for three years, then at Corner Canyon High, south of Salt Lake City. As a senior, Dart was the MaxPreps National Player of the Year and Gatorade Football Player of the Year after he passed for 4,691 yards with a ridiculous 67 touchdowns and four interceptions, adding nearly 1,200 rush yards and 12 rushing touchdowns.

Somehow, Dart’s offers weren’t plentiful. Smaller schools including Utah State came calling, but not one SEC or Big Ten or ACC school showed interest. Ultimately, Dart went with USC, hoping to follow in the footsteps of many NFL stars before him. But in 2021, head coach Clay Helton was fired after two games and USC hired Lincoln Riley, who brought quarterback Caleb Williams with him from Oklahoma for the 2022 season. 

So, Dart bolted to Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss to challenge himself against SEC competition. He stayed there and developed in the Rebels’ up-tempo offense with heavy spread and RPO concepts designed to win at the college level. Dart’s stats improved in each of three years as the offense became a little more complex season after season. By his senior year, Dart won the Conerly Trophy (best quarterback in Mississippi) and was first-team All-SEC.

You might be surprised to learn that Dart not only is among the most experienced quarterbacks in the 2025 draft class, but he’s also the youngest. He has 41 FBS-level starts, more than Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders, and will turn 22 years old just four months before the start of his rookie season. Dart also told CBS Sports in January that he’s had extensive experience in a number of offenses, suggesting he’s not a system quarterback.

“I played in the Wing-T for three years (in high school). In a huddle, every play, took a snap under center every play for three years,” Dart said. “My senior year was more spread. Went to USC in my first year where I played in the Air Raid. In my sophomore year I transferred to Ole Miss, got into the RPO game, hardcore play-action, deep shots, top-down reads, and then really each year we progressed more and more. (My coaches and I) would talk about how we’re a tempo pro-style team … we get into a lot of personnel groupings, do a lot of shifts and motions, play-actions, soft-shell actions, drop-back full-field progression passes, mix in a few RPOs here and there, got into a lot of empty sets, one-high/two-high reads, man/zone reads. So I mean, there’s a lot involved in our offense.”

Dart enters the NFL with that question — can he run a pro-style offense? — as his biggest concern.

Jaxson Dart NFL Draft profile

• Age as of Week 1: 22
• Height: 6-2 ¼
• Weight: 223 pounds
• Hand size: 9 ½
• Comparable body-type to: Bo Nix

CBS prospect ranking

Position: No. 3 QB | Overall: No. 48 overall

Consensus big board ranking (via NFL Mock Draft Database): No. 34 (No. 2 QB)

To check out all of CBSSports.com’s most recent mock drafts, click here.

NFL comparison: Souped-up Christian Ponder

Dart’s lack of a cannon and concerns over just how well he can process pro-style defenses will cap his upside until he proves otherwise. That doesn’t mean he can’t be a useful quarterback and a potential starter in the NFL within the next two seasons, but it would be for the best if he’s given time to learn the game. If he can ascend, then his accuracy, anticipation and rushing skills could help him stay on the field for a while. As it stands now, he reminds me of a souped-up version of Christian Ponder when he was a prospect; Dart’s better as a runner and more accurate, but has some work to do to learn the pro game. Ponder struggled to learn in part because of a lockout stunting his development, something Dart won’t have to deal with, thus giving him a shot to have a much better career. 

NFL landing spots

By Garrett Podell

• Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins have some high level offensive pieces in former All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill, former first-round receiver Jaylen Waddle and running back De’Von Achane. However, they desperately need more durability and big plays from the quarterback position. Dart could develop under Mike McDaniel’s guidance from the sidelines in 2025, and then there’s a chance he could replace Tua Tagovailoa as the Dolphins’ starting quarterback in 2026 or 2027.
• New Orleans Saints: The Saints are cuffed to Derek Carr for his age-34 season. However, his contract runs out of guaranteed money in 2026, the last season of his four-year, $150 million contract. Releasing Carr after the upcoming season could save New Orleans $32.8 million in cap space. Carr and the Saints are together for better or worse this year, but they could pave the way for Dart in 2026 with Carr’s cap hit set to balloon to $61.5 million. 

• Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers are still chasing a veteran quarterback, but regardless if they land Aaron Rodgers or bring back Russell Wilson or sign someone else, they need a long-term solution. That could make Pittsburgh an okay place for Dart to begin his NFL journey, and he’ll have plenty of playmakers to throw to after the Steelers traded for DK Metcalf.

Jaxson Dart NFL Draft landing spots: Ranking five best fits for Ole Miss’ all-time passing leader

Garrett Podell

Jaxson Dart scouting report

Accolades

• Career: All-time winningest starting QB in school history in terms of total wins (28) and winning percentage (.737)
• Career: Ranked fourth in SEC history in total offense (12,115), fourth in total offense per play (8.14), fifth in total offense per game (310.6) and ninth in passing yards (10,617)
• 2025: Gator Bowl MVP (27-for-35 passing for 404 yards and four touchdowns
• 2024: Conerly Trophy Winner (best FBS player in Mississippi)
• 2024: First-team All-SEC

Advanced stats to know

• When pressured last year, Dart completed 41 of 89 passes (46.1%) for 908 yards, four scores and three interceptions with 56 rushes and an insane 23.9% sack rate. The first thing opponents will do is blitz the snot out of him.
• Among his peers, Dart was tops in completion rate (73.5%), off-target rate (4.1%), sack rate (2.0%) and second-best in yards per attempt (5.0) in the red zone. However, he was second-worst in touchdowns with nine (Jalen Milroe had four). 

Strengths

• Played with good technique, footwork and poise. Rarely drifted unnecessarily out of the pocket. Typically played with eyes and feet in rhythm. Snappy hips helped him shift from scanning one side of the field to another.
• Had a quick release on checkdowns, designed screens, deep throws and everything in between.
• Displayed a good understanding of where to throw the ball based on basic pre-snap reads. Examples included throwing quick hitches to target with the defensive back giving the most cushion and not attacking the middle of the field against single-high safety looks. 
• Primarily got by on one-read and half-field reads but was able to frequently process what he saw on those reads and had some success. Would play with patience when he knew he had time to throw, and he knew where to look when he saw a blitz off the snap and could fit a ball between defenders.
• Had the capable arm strength to push the ball downfield. Led all top prospects in the draft class with 19 throws of 40-plus air yards. Had 15 throws of 45-plus air yards over three seasons at Ole Miss. Also made a handful of 40-plus air yard throws off platform, highlighting his pure arm strength.
• Solid, serviceable velocity and zip on throws including long sideline passes.
• Threw with good accuracy and really good ball placement at short and intermediate levels. Completion rate improved each season at Ole Miss, and it would have been higher each year if not for receivers dropping at least 15 of his passes each season. Thrived on over and corner routes downfield, especially to his left, and was a master of the deep fade. Had a smattering of off-target throws, but honestly a lot of them were barely off-target. This could be the trait that pushes him over the top of other prospects in the draft class.
• Good anticipatory passer with room to get even better. Seemed to improve in this as he grew in the Ole Miss offense.
• Though infrequent, Dart was willing and able to make good throws with pass-rush pressure in his face and a hit incoming.
• The ‘Dart’ in his name might be more descriptive of his rushing skills than his passing skills. Had very good vision and solid speed when on the run, be it on designed plays or on scrambles. Was especially good at escaping pass-rush pressure. Also knew when to get down and avoid a big hit. Did seem to have just enough size to withstand hits. This is a trait coaches should embrace, but certainly not to the level as other premier dual-threat quarterbacks. 
• Viewed as a leader by teammates and coaches, both at Ole Miss and during Senior Bowl week.
• Good track record with injuries. Did have meniscus surgery after his 2021 season at USC but otherwise did not miss a game. Did leave briefly in the 2024 matchup against Georgia with an ankle issue but came back in. 

Concerns

• Threw at different arm angles, which was fine, but his release point was closer to his chest than his head, leading to nine passes batted down in 2024 (same as shorter passers Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel) and 20 over his three years at Ole Miss. Coaches could address this, but it might end up being a tendency. 
• Dart was able to make reads pre-snap but often made plays based on one read or a half-field read. There was some but not enough evidence to confidently suggest Dart could consistently process defensive coverage post-snap, nor was there enough evidence to show he could make full-field reads. These factors are common when a quarterback plays in a schemed-up college offense, and they’re obviously critical for success in the NFL. However, it’s not to say he can’t make these reads, but it’ll take effort from him and his coaches to become good at it. Additionally, Dart has played in a number of offenses in his life and managed to succeed in all of them, so there should be at least a little hope for improvement.
• Definitely had bouts of locking in on one player before throwing. Can’t get away with that in the pros. 
• Didn’t take easy throws as often as he should have, often looking for the bigger play but resulting in missed opportunities. This figures to be an easy coaching point for Dart to learn.
• When Dart struggled to make reads post-snap, or locked in on a player, or passed up easy throws, he naturally held the ball too long. Sometimes it worked out for him as he’d still complete passes, but in the pros that figures to mean more incompletions, sacks and interceptions. Again, this is a fixable issue.
• Was definitely pressure sensitive, frequently opting for the escape hatch with his legs rather than sticking in a muddy pocket or behind the line of scrimmage. Didn’t consistently keep his eyes downfield when on the move and frankly gave up too soon on pass plays once pressure arrived. This seemed to especially be a factor in the second halves of games.
• Deeper throws tended to have a little too much air under them.
• Had a track record of not being clutch late in games. Last year, his completion rate in the fourth quarter was 60%, worst of any quarter, with a 15% off-target rate. That was consistent over his three years at Ole Miss (60.1% completion rate, 12.4% off-target rate in the fourth quarter). It’s also especially notable that in three years at Ole Miss and one year at USC, Dart threw zero game-winning touchdowns and led the Rebels to a game-winning score late in the fourth quarter twice in three years. Some of that is related to circumstance — the Rebels blew out a lot of opponents — but it’s jarring to see that there’s scant evidence of Dart playing great late, especially since there was evidence he made bad, rushed decisions late, some of which led to four interceptions in the fourth quarter last season (including two in a winnable game at Florida). 

Bottom line

Dart has too many questions to be considered a worthy first-rounder, but as Day 2 picks go, he should quickly find a home. Hopefully it’s with a team with an older veteran starter who can give Dart the time he needs to learn the pro game before getting the keys to the offense in 2026. He’s got a capable arm, very good mobility and potential as a processor, but his limitations keep his upside from ever being that of a top-10 passer. In fact, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he had a long career as a quality backup.

NFL Draft 2025 rumors: Some teams view Jaxson Dart as first-rounder as Shedeur Sanders’ QB2 status in question

Jordan Dajani

What other draft experts say about Jaxson Dart

Josh Edwards: Dart has packed a lot of experience and pass attempts into the past four years of college football. One of the criticisms of Dart has been his exposure to more half field reads rather than reading out the defense, but everything I have heard is that he has handled the whiteboard quizzes well and would have no problem soaking up an NFL offense. The one-time USC transfer is another quarterback with great competitive toughness. I ultimately believe Dart will at the very least compete for a starting role and likely secure one within the first two years of his career.

Chris Trapasso: Dart projects as a confident, rhythm-based passer with the tools to develop into a solid NFL quarterback. He thrived in a spread offense centered around RPOs and vertical shots, but his ability to progress through secondary reads and throw with anticipation suggest he can adjust to a more structured system. His overall accuracy is a plus, but ball placement-particularly on deeper throws must be refined. Dart’s arm talent is above average, but he lacks elite-level drive on deep throws. Athletically, he has enough twitchiness to maneuver the pocket and extend plays, though he’s not a true dual-threat. Without a standout physical trait, Dart’s NFL success will depend on his ability to refine his pocket movement, improve his consistency under pressure and operate within a system that maximizes his timing and anticipation. He may not have a high-end ceiling, but his decisive play and steady mechanics give him a path to becoming a quality backup with potential to develop into a low-end starter.

Jaxson Dart college stats

High school: Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah)
Class: 2021
Composite rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (94)

• Overall: 108 | QB: 13 | Utah: 2

High school accolades: 2020 MaxPreps High School Football Player of the Year (accounted for nearly 6,000 yards and 79 touchdowns (state-record 67 passing and 12 rushing)); two-time all-state third baseman

Check out Jaxson Dart’s full 247Sports profile, here. For his MaxPreps profile, click here. 

The 2025 NFL Draft is to take place from April 24-26 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. More draft coverage can be found at CBSSports.com, including the weekly mock drafts and a regularly available look at the eligible prospects.