This past Saturday against the Arkansas Razorbacks, Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart became the second quarterback in SEC history to throw for 500 yards and six touchdowns in a game, joining Missouri's Drew Lock in that exclusive category. This performance raised two very important questions:

  1. If Ole Miss wins out, would Jaxson Dart — #1 in the nation in passing yards and #3 in passing touchdowns — have forced his way into the Heisman Trophy conversation?
  2. What do we make of Jaxson Dart's NFL Draft stock?

The answer to the first question should be a resounding ‘yes,' especially if Dart continues delivering at the clip he's been at through the first nine games of the season.

The answer to that second question is a little more complex. Dart has proven to be very accurate and incredibly trusting of his arm. He has wheels and he's a guy who has been touted for his leadership qualities. However, this is admittedly a question that we should defer to the judgment of the experts in the field who deal almost exclusively with the NFL Draft.

Related Ole Miss Football NewsArticle continues below
Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and girlfriend Jordon Hudson enter the field before the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Navy Midshipmen at MetLife Stadium.
North Carolina football’s Bill Belichick dishes on his ‘creative muse’ Jordon Hudson
North Carolina Tar Heels football coach Bill Belichick before the game at Dean E. Smith Center.
Bill Belichick makes candid confession on joining North Carolina football
Bill Belichick and his girlfriend Jordon Hudson at the NFL Honors on February 6, 2025.
Bill Belichick shuts down personal questions about ‘terrific’ Jordon Hudson

“Dart has a Jekyll-Hyde quality,” NFL Draft expert Dane Brugler of The Athletic wrote on Monday. “If the Arkansas game Saturday was your first exposure to him, you would guess he is in the top-10 conversation; if you watched the Kentucky or LSU games, you saw a much more inconsistent player.”

Dane Brugler notes that the fact that Jaxson Dart operates in Lane Kiffin's college-style offense complicates his draft evaluation, but both he and his counterpart Nick Baumgardner acknowledge that more than anything else, how Dart performs against the best defenses he faces this year may ultimately be the deciding factor as to how high he ends up getting drafted next April.

“The biggest thing here, though, is I’m not sure we’d say his performances against top-end competition have been great, and he was downright bad last season vs. Alabama and Georgia,” The Athletic's Nick Baumgardner writes. “Dart will have a chance to show he’s made strides in that area this Saturday, however, when Ole Miss hosts Georgia.”

Already, one notable 2025 quarterback prospect, Texas' Quinn Ewers, has looked pedestrian against Georgia this season, and Dart doesn't have a great track record against Kirby Smart's squad. In a visit to Athens last November, Dart threw for just 112 yards and an interception in a 52-17 loss to the top-ranked Bulldogs.