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As the NFL world descends on Mobile, Alabama, for the 2025 edition of the 2025 Reese's Senior Bowl, if there's one player who has seen their stock going straight up over the past week, it's Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart.
A former USC recruit who turned in three increasingly impressive seasons at Ole Miss, Dart entered the Senior Bowl as the clear QB3, but as the week has progressed, the hype around Dart has only risen. Todd McShay declared him his new QB2, pundits celebrated his off-field maturity as much as his on-field effectiveness, and assuming he caps the week off with a big game in Mobile, it's safe to assume he will have all of the hype heading into the 2025 NFL Combine, where his final draft stock will be more-or-less written.
And yet, before seeing how Dart threw the ball in Indianapolis, let alone the Senior Bowl, ESPN's Dan Orlovsky boldly declared on social media that, now, on the final day of January, he's seen enough.
“Jaxson Dart is going in round 1,” Orlovsky declared.
Whoa, a pretty massive endorsement, right? Eh, maybe so, but it isn't too far off either, as if McShay's prediction comes true, that would make Dart a Top-3 pick, likely landing with the New York Giants over Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders, depending on who you have ranked at the top spot. While that would be a shocking development, it would be no more so than JJ McCarthy, Bo Nix, and Michael Pennix Jr. all going in the top 12 last year or many of the other overdrafted quarterbacks through the years who ended up being compared to their peers in the years proceeding.
Daniel Jeremiah has Jaxson Dart as a second-round pick
While NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah doesn't have Dart as a top-12 pick, he does have him just outside of his top-40, with his stock pointing up.
“Dart has slightly below-average height and a thick/sturdy frame. He’s an excellent athlete and was very productive in Lane Kiffin’s offensive system. Dart connects on a lot of RPOs, quick hitters, and seam balls. He has the touch to get the ball up and down at the second level. He flashed the ability to get deeper in his progression, but the first or second option was usually open,” Jeremiah wrote.
“His eyes work fast, and there are occasions where his feet fail to catch up, which can impact ball placement. He doesn’t have a huge power arm, but he has enough to drive the ball outside the numbers without issue. His decision-making continued to improve throughout his college career, but there were still hiccups at times. I love his athleticism and competitiveness as a runner. He can create off-script and execute on designed QB runs. Overall, Dart is still a work in progress, but he possesses starter traits, and his competitiveness will endear him to his teammates.”
Is Dart a work in progress? Yes. But if he shows clear progress over the NFL Draft process, who knows, maybe some team will fall in love with him during the process and make Orlovsky's prediction come true.