When it comes to the NFL Draft, a common pet peeve for fans is supporting that one quarterback prospect who’s flown under the radar. While Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward are widely considered the top two signal-callers this year, a name that’s been gaining buzz lately is Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart — and for good reason.
Advertisement
Dart’s college career at Ole Miss was notable, especially the 2024 season, when he completed 276 of 398 passes (69.3%) for 4,279 yards, 29 touchdowns, and six interceptions, earning a QBR of 86.3, which ranked fourth nationally. Over his career, the quarterback set multiple school records as well, including most career passing yards (10,617) and total offense (12,115).
As things stand, he is projected by most mock drafts to be a late first-round pick. However, veteran analyst Colin Cowherd doesn’t seem to agree with that projection or the hype surrounding Jaxson Dart. Despite the Ole Miss star’s impressive college statistics, Cowherd expressed skepticism about his ability to perform in the NFL.
In fact, Cowherd went a step further and predicted that Dart could have a Zach Wilson-esque career based on what he has seen so far from the Ole Miss star. “Jaxson Dart. Folks, I see Zach Wilson with the Jets,” Cowherd remarked.
“His best games were against Duke, Georgia Southern, and Furman. It’s Zach Wilson.” He elaborated, “He’s impressive, good-looking kid, confident under Lane Kiffin’s system, but in big games, wasn’t consistently accurate, wasn’t great with pressure.”
Comparing Jaxson Dart to Zach Wilson is truly intriguing because their runs into the Draft have been eerily similar from a statistical perspective. Like the Ole Miss QB, Wilson’s college tenure at BYU culminated in a standout 2020 season, when he completed 247 of 336 passes (73.5%) for 3,692 yards, 33 touchdowns, and three interceptions.
This has led Cowherd to further believe that both quarterbacks are pleasing to the eye with their confidence and put up impressive numbers, largely thanks to their domination of weaker opponents. But when it comes to facing top teams, both fall short — which is why Cowherd is urging NFL teams to be cautious with Jaxson Dart.
“This feels like Zach Wilson, where he’s gonna blow you away with his confidence. He’s got a little bit of an arm, but he was inaccurate in big games… I don’t think he sees the field particularly well. I don’t think he’s an anticipation thrower.”
Dart isn’t the first quarterback of this Draft class to be accused of being poor against the top 25 teams. Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders has also been blamed for the same.
But what makes Dart’s case worse is that he had a much better O-line and offensive weapons around him than Sanders, yet he posted numbers as poor as 2 TDs, 2 INTs, and a 57.7% completion rate against the crème de la crème of college football. Not only does Shedeur have more TDs (5), but he also boasts a superior completion percentage of 79%.
Despite these concerns, Cowherd predicted Dart would be drafted in the first round, simply because he’s a favorite among NFL executives.. “But he’ll get drafted in the first round. Enough GMs like him,” noted the analyst.
View this post on Instagram
That said, fans didn’t necessarily agree with Colin Cowherd’s take. For starters, a few believed that it’s not just Jaxson Dart; it’s the entire quarterback class that’s subpar this year. A few even likened the playmakers of this year to those of the 2015 Draft, where almost every quarterback not named Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota was a bust.
“This QB class is likely going to be 2015 all over again,” penned a fan. Others, meanwhile, couldn’t see the point The Herd host was trying to make. For them, Dart seems to be a much better prospect than Wilson. They think Sam Darnold is a better comparison for the Ole Miss star than the BYU alum.
“Tell me you didn’t watch the film without telling me you didn’t watch the film. Handled Georgia, SC and Arkansas. Defense gave away LSU. Dart played very well. Fell apart the last two possessions of the Florida’s game. Watch a hit he takes towards the end of that game…” said an internet user.
“I don’t see it. Zach can’t see the field like Jaxson Darr can. I see more of a Sam Daronld comparison for Dart,” argued another. The rest, however, decided to declare Dart to have a success in the NFL thanks to Cowherd’s poor luck when it comes to prediction.
“Same guy who set Philly wouldn’t sniff the red zone in the SB. Knows next to nothing about football,” joked an NFL fan. “So this means Dart is gonna be a star,” hilariously chimed in another.
Regardless of how fans feel, Cowherd made a valid point by noting Dart’s big-game struggles. It’s no secret that college football is a level below the NFL. So when a prospect can’t even perform against the top teams in college football, logic dictates that this talent will struggle in the NFL, just like Zach Wilson did with the Jets.
