NFL draft: Meteoric rise of QB Jaxson Dart. Browns future quarterback? 

In every NFL draft, there is that one guy that seems to come out of nowhere with Jaxson Dart one of them in 2025

The Cleveland Browns seem like a certainty to draft a young quarterback in this year’s NFL draft.

Their QB room is just about set. GM Andrew Berry just inked Joe Flacco away from the Indianapolis Colts. Earlier, he traded for former first-round draft selection Kenny Pickett. And now, all that is needed is a QB3 to groom and hopefully take over next season, or possibly the year after that.

Which in itself is a luxury. Way back in the day, rookies never played. Veterans shunned them. No rookie ever ate a meal with any veterans. No veteran ever played pool or threw darts or drank a beer after practice with a rookie. Rookies sat in the back of the airplane.

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And young offensive linemen, cornerbacks, and quarterbacks really didn’t see the field until their third season. But beginning in the 1980s, that trend started to turn, and more first-round signal-callers were being thrown into the lineup in their rookie season at some point.

Who the Browns choose as their future quarterback still remains to be seen. Berry knows who he will focus on, as does a handful of others within the organization. With a bevy of draft picks this year, Berry will be able to slide up and down rounds in order to get specific players he prefers. And the quarterback will be one of them. Do not be surprised to see Berry move up in a round and take his choice for the Cleveland’s next field general.

Jaxson Dart (6’-2”, 215 pounds) from Ole Miss is a guy who is probably on Berry’s list. So are others. And just because a team like Cleveland wants a guy does not mean that he will be drafted by them. It is certainly a chess match during the duration of the draft. Wait until the next round? The guy may be taken by someone else. Get him now? You could have had him a round later.

After this year’s college football season was completed, Dart was listed as the sixth-highest rated quarterback behind Cam Ward of Miami, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, Jalen Milroe from Alabama, Ohio State’s Will Howard, and Riley Leonard of Notre Dame.

Dart’s draft ranking was #132. That is the final few slots in Round 4 as the fifth round begins with pick #139.

This past season, Dart had an impressive season tossing for 4,279 yards with 276 completions on 398 attempts. He threw 29 touchdowns against just six interceptions. He had a 69.3 completion percentage, which is exceptional. Dart also ran 124 times for 495 yards with three more scores. So, he is a dual-threat quarterback. He was named First Team All-SEC, MVP of the Gator Bowl, and won the Conerly Trophy, given to the best college football athlete in the State of Mississippi.

But what changed Dart’s life was an invitation to the Reese’s Senior Bowl.

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Dart came into the game as the lesser-known talent at quarterback as the game always features six quarterbacks. Accepted invites included Howard, who had just won the National Championship, Oregon’s Dillion Gabriel, Milroe, Tyler Shough of Louisville, and Leonard, who just lost the Natty.

What transpired for Dart was an impressive practice week against some of the best college football talent from the 2024 season. In addition, Howard bailed from the game while Milroe struggled all week, so the focus on these two QBs was lessened.

After the first day of full contact on Tuesday, the names that were on everyone’s tongue were EDGE rushers Mike Green from Marshall and Shemar Stewart of Texas A&M, North Dakota State OT Grey Zabel, and QB Jaxson Dart.

Every draft class, there appears to be one guy at quarterback that everybody talks about but can’t nail down where he will be taken. Johnny Football was one of those. So was Lamar Jackson. Brandan Weeden was another. Peyton Manning or Ryan Leaf? J.J. McCarthy last year.

Dart has the size and the arm strength, and has developed his own highlight reel during his four-year college career in which he tossed for 11,970 yards and rushed for 1,541 yards.

At one time, Dart was just a skinny kid playing high school football and baseball at Roy High in Kaysville, Utah. For his senior year, he transferred to Corner Canyon High School in nearby Draper, Utah. That offense was an air raid style that threw a ton of passes. In one season, he passed for 4,691 yards with 67 touchdowns. No, not a misprint. He was voted the Gatorade Football Player of the Year for the state of Utah. He was also an All-State third baseman.

The college offers were a drawer full. He chose USC, and in his freshman year, he won the backup quarterback job. In Week 3, he entered the game early against Washington State when the starter became injured. He threw four touchdowns with two picks and gained 391 yards in the 42-14 win in just his first college contest.

After USC’s head coach was fired, Dart entered the transfer portal and chose Ole Miss under head coach Lane Kiffin, who is widely known for developing quarterbacks. Only a sophomore, Dart started all 13 games. He became the starter in his junior and senior seasons as well, escaping any serious injuries. In all, he had six starts at USC and 39 while with Ole Miss.

How does Dart translate into an NFL quarterback? His passer rating of 180.7 led the FBS this past season.

He has a live arm and an exceptional touch on his throws. When a play breaks down, he has shown very good improv skills and will look downfield for an open receiver before taking off. Dart is a natural leader and has power in his throws, being a former All-State third baseman. He will showcase a quick, compact release and deliver an accurate throw even when defenders are in his face. Plus, he is a good runner and displays that he is a tough guy.

Dart will create plays on his own and can hit on all the throws, including layered passes, deep outs, and downfield shots that come off of play action. He will need to work on his deep accuracy.

The knock on him is that he is still developing the skill to manipulate defenders with his eyes, and will telegraph his primary reads on occasion. Dart is better in shotgun and when forced to drop back from center, his production declines. And sometimes he will leave the pocket too soon.

But understand, Kiffin’s system at Ole Miss was designed to key on if the first read is open and not have to deal with a lot of pass rush. There is a lot of pre-snap motion and spacing concepts. All of this means Dart wasn’t asked to go through a lot of progressions in his three years under Kiffin. This may explain why, on certain plays, he is more than willing to tuck the ball and run with it.

Waiting for receivers to get completely open may work in college, but in the NFL, the windows are a lot smaller. Dart will also need to work on his blitz recognition, something many NFL defenses are famous for. Sometimes you have to abort play fakes.

Dart’s decision to throw at the Combine helped him tremendously. While other guys struggled during these drills, Dart showed accuracy and arm velocity.

All of us have no idea where Dart will end up. With his Senior Bowl and Combine success, he is now projected as an early second-rounder, although there are some mock drafts that have placed him in the 20s in Round 1 and even as high as the #9 pick to the New Orleans Saints. If QB Shedeur Sanders falls, it will be because Dart shoved him out.

Dart was the selection for Cleveland fans when asked who they wanted the Browns to select at quarterback in this draft.

With the Browns’ Official 30 visits, Dart was one of the invitees.

The most likely team is the Pittsburgh Steelers at #21, as well as the Browns with the first pick in Round 2 at #33.