Multiple NFL sources have told the Daily News that they believe Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart will end up being the Bo Nix of this year’s NFL Draft class.
Nix was projected by many as a late-first or early-second round pick for most of his pre-draft process, but Sean Payton locked in on the Oregon QB. The Denver Broncos drafted Nix No. 12 overall.
And Nix led the Broncos to a playoff berth, finishing third in the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year voting behind only Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels and Raiders tight end Brock Bowers.
“It only takes one,” a coach said. One team to love a player and draft him high, especially at the sport’s premium position.
That happened in a 2024 class when six quarterbacks came off the board in the draft’s top 12 selections.
Now imagine how competitive a market there could be for the first-team All-SEC QB Dart in a draft with only one standout QB prospect, Miami’s Cam Ward, who is expected to go No. 1 overall to the Tennessee Titans.
Here’s how competitive: there are some in league circles who believe Dart will be this class’ QB2 even ahead of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, whose recent pro day highlighted some NFL scouts’ questions about his ability to drive the ball to the sideline.
“I think he’ll end up getting drafted before Shedeur,” one NFL evaluator said.
The big question in New York, then, is whether Dart could be the Giants’ guy. Their actions say they’re very interested.
Dart, 21, visited the Giants in East Rutherford, N.J., back in early March right after the NFL Combine. And the Giants also sent an enormous contingent of coaches and evaluators to Oxford, Miss., that included coach Brian Daboll this spring to spend more time with him.
The Rebels’ quarterback ran an RPO-heavy scheme in college, or the “run-pass option,” where a quarterback in shotgun makes quick throws out of play action to pre-snap reads. In 2024 he racked up 4,774 total yards of offense, throwing 29 TD passes to six interceptions.
There are questions about his ability to process and work the field at the NFL level if those first reads are not available. But his production, especially his on-target deliveries down the field in coach Lane Kiffin’s offense, stands out as a tantalizing ability that could translate.
Dart led all of college football with 1,517 yards and 17 TDs on deep passes of 20 air yards or more in 2024. And he ran the ball at least 119 times in all three of his Ole Miss seasons, including eight touchdown runs in 2023 and 124 carries for 495 yards and three TDs last year.
One NFL scout said he looks at Dart and sees a good “backup,” a “gamer” who is prone to mistakes. Then again, like Nix last season, if a quarterback finds the right coach and supporting cast, he can quickly prove a lot of teams’ evaluations wrong.
“There are things to like about Dart,” Greg Cosell of NFL Films told The News on the “Talkin’ Ball with Pat Leonard” podcast. “He throws a pretty good ball. He’s probably a better athlete than people give him credit for. His running will be a factor. His ability to scramble and get first downs like that will be a factor.”
“Overall traits, you wouldn’t put him in that [top] category,” Cosell added. “But if he’s well coached, good scheme, people around him — there are very few transcendent quarterbacks. They need people [around them]. I think Dart could be a quality starter in this league, but I think he needs all those other things in place for that to happen.”
Here’s the thing about quarterbacks who can be quality starters in the NFL now, though: they all get drafted much higher than anticipated.
The Giants’ ideal scenario to land Dart seemingly would be to use the No. 3 overall pick on Colorado receiver/corner Travis Hunter or Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter, and then trade up into the first round from their No. 34 overall second-round pick for the Ole Miss QB.
The problem is Dart probably won’t fall that far down the board.
The Las Vegas Raiders at No. 6 overall have hosted Dart. The New Orleans Saints’ chances of taking Dart shot through the roof on Friday when it was reported that incumbent Derek Carr’s lingering shoulder injury could jeopardize his 2025 season.
Dart’s most direct physical comparison to a productive pro, at 6-2 and 223 pounds, is reigning Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts, whom the Eagles list at 6-1, 223. New Saints coach Kellen Moore could view that as the perfect transition from his work with Hurts in Philly to running his own team in the Big Easy.
The L.A. Rams are a sneaky possible destination at No. 26, too, behind the QB-needy Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 21 — with the Seattle Seahawks at No. 18 maybe waiting until the later rounds to take a developmental QB.
Rams GM Les Snead and coach Sean McVay need to get a young quarterback into their building with Matthew Stafford on a year-to-year basis after nearly leaving via trade in the early offseason.
Dart has spent a lot of time with the Rams during this process, and some league sources believe that Dart to L.A. is a strong possibility based on a combination of mutual interest, fit and breadcrumbs.
That would mean the Giants might have to trade over the Rams at No. 26 to get Dart. The problem with that? The Cleveland Browns at No. 33 overall might have the same exact idea.
The Browns are not expected to take a quarterback at No. 2 overall, but they have been all over the quarterbacks, including Dart, during the process. Similar to the Giants, they need to take one; it’s just a question of where.
Maybe all of these variables are making the argument, in the end, that the Giants are more likely to land a quarterback like Texas’ Quinn Ewers in the early second round because Dart won’t be available to them if they pass on him at No. 3.
Some NFL sources are curious about the logic of passing on a coveted QB at No. 3 but hungrily pursuing him in the late first round.
Hypothetically, for example, if the Giants love Dart as a possible future franchise QB and a team like Saints at No. 9 are in play for Dart, too, why would he be worth pick No. 25 in a trade up but not be worth pick No. 3?
A prospect’s value on the board obviously comes into play. Giants GM Joe Schoen constantly says he believes in the value of the draft board matching to the player’s draft slot.
And the Giants could benefit greatly from getting Hunter or Carter at No. 3 to help their team immediately while also finding a quarterback that they like a bit later.
Then again, a franchise quarterback is the most important commodity in the sport. That’s what the Giants are seeking above anything. Passing on one again — after passing on Nix, Michael Penix Jr. and J.J. McCarthy in last year’s draft — is a dangerous proposition.
Dart, in addition to his physical attributes, is also an attractive prospect because he is extremely coachable, according to those who know him.
It surprises no one that as Dart has spent more facetime with NFL teams, more coaches — Daboll included — have warmed to the good-natured, athletic QB.
The question is whether Daboll believes he’s found a Josh Allen-like connection.
The only quarterback Daboll has coached to a high-scoring, elite level was Allen, a 6-5, 237-pound unicorn with a smile, a relatable disposition and leadership qualities.
Dart is not comparable to Allen as a player. No quarterback in this class is. If the Giants have conviction in his makeup and upside, however, he could be worth a bigger swing than anyone in this NFL Draft class — if someone else doesn’t take him first.
