Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
Dart was a four-star recruit from Corner Canyon High School in Draper, Utah in the class of 2021
Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart is one of the most polarizing prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft. Many believe he’ll hear his name called in the first round, but his average physical tools, inconsistent pocket management, struggles when pressured, and lack of experience in a pro-style offense hurt his chances significantly.
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Jaxson Dart, QB Ole Miss: 2025 NFL Draft Profile
Classification: Senior quarterback from Kaysville, Utah
Background: Dart was a four-star recruit from Corner Canyon High School in Draper, Utah in the class of 2021. He was the No. 69 recruit according to 247Sports, No. 107 for Rivals, and No. 42 for On3.com. ESPN ranked him 19th in the nation with an 89 grade out of 100. Dart transferred from USC to Ole Miss for the 2022 season. He began his high school career at Roy High School in Roy, Utah before transferring to Corner Canyon for his senior year. As a high school senior, Dart completed 240 of 345 pass attempts for 4,691 yards, a Utah record 67 touchdowns, and four interceptions. He also ran for 1,195 yards and 12 touchdowns on only 128 carries. Corner Canyon went 14-0 and won the 6A State Championship. Dart was chosen as the 2020-21 Gatorade National Football Player of the Year, MaxPreps National Player of the Year, and Desert News’ Mr. Football. He was a First Team All-American for Sports Illustrated. While attending Roy as a junior, Dart completed 159 of 247 pass attempts for 2,440 yards, 22 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He also ran for 102 yards and a score on 46 carries and punted 12 times for 423 yards. Dart earned All-Region honors for his performance. He was also an All-Region selection as a sophomore when he completed 119 of 199 passes for 2,161 yards, 17 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. Dart rushed 52 times for 100 yards and six touchdowns that season. As a freshman, he completed 85 of 178 pass attempts for 1,396 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. Dart earned All-State honors as a baseball player twice during his high school career. His father, Brandon, was a safety at Utah who earned honorable mention All-WAC status before persevering through two season-ending injuries to continue his college career. Dart was born on May 13, 2003.
Injuries & Off-Field: As a high school freshman he suffered a medial epicondyle fracture in his right elbow with a slight tear in his UCL, missed games in 2021 with an MCL sprain and surgery for torn meniscus, appeared to suffer left ankle injury vs. Georgia (2024) but returned to the game
Awards: 2021 Honorable Mention Pac-12 Offensive Freshman Player of the Year, 2023 Honorable Mention All-SEC (CFN), 2024 First Team All-SEC, 2024 Honorable Mention All-American (CFN, Phil Steele), 2024-25 Gator Bowl MVP
Pros: Quick release, smooth throwing motion, arm strength to push the ball 50 yards downfield, good timing and rhythm going through reads, delivers some nice throws while taking big hits, solid placement over MOF, examples of driving far hash throws for hole shots, good downfield touch, layers ball between defense’s second and third levels, drops the ball in a bucket down the sideline, attacks downfield when he gets one-on-one opportunities, extends plays with legs, keeps eyes downfield on rollouts, gets hips around to throw with accuracy rolling left, mobility to gash defenses when left alone in space, stresses linebackers when moving at full speed, potential for RPOs and some designed runs, finds cutback opportunities
Cons: Beneficiary of Ole Miss offense, processing slows down after first read, late arriving to throws tightens throwing windows, stares down targets, needs more anticipation, hit-or-miss pocket management, doesn’t step up to avoid outside pressure consistently, inconsistent awareness of backside pressure, gets happy feet, overstrides, feet shutdown and he throws with all arm, self-sabotages by forcing himself to throw off platform, early to drop head and panic when pressured in pocket, mentally shuts down under pressure at times, holds the ball and makes poor throws while being hit, doesn’t throw the ball away enough, takes a lot of hits, needs to lead receivers more on fades, lacks elite arm strength, some intermediate far hash throws die on him, receivers have to slow down to make catches of far hash fades, underthrown passes on deep sideline fades leave significant production on the table, attempts some downfield jump throws that float, arm strength fades significantly on off platform throws, lacks twitch and elusiveness as a runner, full meltdown against Florida (2024)
Overview: Dart delivers the ball with a quick release and smooth throwing motion. He displays nice timing and rhythm working through his initial reads from a clean pocket, but Ole Miss’ offense makes life easy for him. The Rebels run a limited number of concepts. It’s a great, productive college system, but it isn’t a translatable pro-style training ground. The limitations imposed by this system show up when Dart’s processing slows down after his first read and makes him late to throwing windows. He makes some full-field progressions, but that’s not something he does at a consistent or high level. Dart doesn’t throw with anticipation drive-to-drive and has poor eye discipline that tips off defenders. His pocket management is hit-or-miss but often drifts into below-average territory. He doesn’t step up to avoid outside pressure and lacks awareness of backside pressure. Dart drops his head quickly when he feels pressure and doesn’t reset his feet in the pocket to throw when moved off his initial spot. He sometimes mentally shuts down against pressure and makes perplexing decisions. Dart is a tough quarterback who delivers throws while being hit, but these passes range from heroic to potentially catastrophic. He takes too many hits and needs to throw the ball away more often. The Utah native must refine his footwork. He gets happy feet in the pocket, causing him to overstride on throws. His feet also go quiet, forcing him to chuck throws with just his upper body. It looks like a painful and labored process. Dart sometimes forces himself to throw off-platform, even when he has a clean launchpad. He throws with good touch downfield and places/layers the ball well over the middle of the field. Some of his fades die on him, but he also drops some of those deep throws in a bucket down the sideline. Dart aggressively attacks one-on-one opportunities outside the hashes. He lacks high-end arm strength but still manages to drive the ball 50 yards downfield and access some opposite hash hole shots with precise placement. He needs to show more anticipation when throwing downfield. Right now, his receivers have to slow down for the ball too much. He struggles to maximize their leverage. Dart is a mobile quarterback with impressive speed. He extends plays and gets his hips around for throws on the run. Dart is built from RPOs and makes nice plays on designed runs. The All-SEC selection faces some questions about his ability to mentally reset when things start going wrong. His late-game collapse against Florida (2024) was as ugly as it gets.
Overall, it’s difficult to divorce Dart from his college system. He’s an ideal passer in rhythm and offers B-level traits across the board, but he struggles to combat pressure when the play begins to break down and doesn’t show a consistent level of comfort working beyond his initial reads. The transition from Ole Miss’ offense to a pro-style system will be a significant leap.
Role & Scheme Fit: Play action and RPO heavy offense
Round Grade: Fourth Round
Size: 6'2 1/4", 223 lbs. (NFL Combine)
Submitted: 06-13-24
Updated: 01-20-25