Jaxson Dart Talks 2025 NFL Draft, Ole Miss Career and More in B/R Interview

Jaxson Dart knows how to make an elevator pitch.

"They're going to get the best competitor in the draft," the Ole Miss quarterback told Bleacher Report when asked what a team is getting if they select him in the 2025 NFL draft. "They're going to get somebody who cares about every single little detail and doing whatever it takes to be elite. Someone who really loves the game of football and takes in the whole process instead of being just outcome driven. 

"When you have somebody who is like that and really cares about others and raising the standard for everybody around them, that's how you create a team and create a culture that wins and has success on the highest level.

"This is what I'm passionate about. This has been my first love and something that's driven me since I came out of the womb. With all the intangibles that I have on the field, what separates me is how I'm able to lead and set a standard of accountability, consistency and discipline in everything I do."

That leadership will surely stand out to front offices doing their research before Thursday's draft, but so will his overall play on the field.

Dart showed off impressive accuracy and the ability to distribute the ball like a point guard when he was at Ole Miss. He also proved he was capable of making throws at all levels of the field with the velocity necessary to fit passes through tight windows and the touch needed to beat defenders over the top.

Throw in his quick release, and he should be able to make plenty of plays in the aerial attack.

And while he might not be Lamar Jackson or Justin Fields when it comes to running the ball, he demonstrated enough athleticism and shiftiness to make plays with his legs and evade pass-rushers in the pocket.

"My touch and accuracy down the field," Dart said when discussing what will translate the best to the NFL. "My ability to create off platform and extend plays with my legs while being creative. I also feel like I'm the tempo-setter for an offense when it comes to toughness and mentality-wise being able to lead. I look at it that every part of my game will translate, which will give me an advantage when I get to that level."

It isn't a stretch to suggest that overall skill set makes him the a top-three quarterback in this draft.

B/R's NFL Scouting Department ranked him as the No. 3 signal-caller behind only Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders in its latest big board of prospects. That would make him the headliner from the group behind Ward and Sanders that includes Will Howard, Jalen Milroe, Quinn Ewers, Tyler Shough and Kyle McCord.

Being in that position could mean hearing his name called late in the first round, which is exactly what B/R's NFL Scouting Department projected in its most recent mock draft with the Cleveland Browns trading into the No. 24 pick and selecting him.

Such a scenario could give Dart an opportunity to compete for a starting role right away seeing how Deshaun Watson is sidelined by another ruptured Achilles and a quarterback room of Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett isn't exactly stellar.

There has also been speculation that Dart could wind up with teams such as the Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers or New York Giants. 

Landing with the Rams with Matthew Stafford or the Giants with Russell Wilson would give him a chance to learn behind a veteran before potentially being tasked with taking over the offense down the line.

"I wish the draft was tomorrow so I could figure this out and get this started," he said. "Wherever I go, I'm going to be grateful for the opportunity and make it the best that I can. I will really invest myself into making it into a Super Bowl organization."

There is plenty of successful college tape for those NFL organizations to turn toward when making their assessment.

Dart started his collegiate career at USC as a 4-star prospect in the 2021 recruiting class, per 247Sports' composite rankings, and then transferred to Ole Miss ahead of the 2022 campaign. He improved his individual numbers in each of his three seasons with the Rebels and helped lead them to double-digit wins in 2023 and 2024.

He completed 69.3 percent of his passes for 4,279 yards, 29 touchdowns and six interceptions while adding 495 yards and three scores on the ground as a runner during a 2024 season that included wins over Georgia, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Arkansas and rival Mississippi State.

That was good enough to earn First-Team All-SEC honors as he set the school record for career passing yards (10,617). As if that wasn't enough, he finished the season by throwing for 404 yards and four touchdowns in a blowout Gator Bowl win over Duke.

But it's not the wins and eye-popping numbers that stand out the most when he is reflecting on his time with Ole Miss.

"There are a lot of memories I'm going to have, but it starts with the relationships that I built with the whole community of Oxford," Dart said. "It was a place that really welcomed me with open arms. Being a kid from the West Coast, I had to look up where Mississippi was on the map when I first got there. 

"It wasn't like I was very familiar with the area or had personal connections when I got there. So being able to go into a community that was so welcoming was great. I made great relationships with my teammates, and off the field I think we made Oxford better. That's something I can be really proud of in addition to the wins and success we had on the field."

Dart's success extended off the field in more ways than one, as he also partnered with Crocs as part of the footwear company's roster of collegiate athletes that also includes Duke basketball commits Cameron and Cayden Boozer, Ohio State football stars Caleb Downs and Carnell Tate, and South Carolina basketball player Tessa Johnson, among others.

The athletes were chosen in part because of their love for Crocs before they signed any deal.

"I'm really looking forward to this relationship going far beyond this season with Crocs," Dart said. "It made it unique being able to form a long-term relationship with them and at the same time bring them into my circle as well. It's a product that I wear more days during the week than I don't."

Expect the partnership to carry over as Dart begins his NFL career and carves out his legacy.

He has been compared to a number of NFL quarterbacks, including Gardner Minshew, Carson Wentz, Baker Mayfield and Kenny Pickett, but discussed some of the signal-callers he looks to model his game after as he prepares for the jump to the next level.

"Brett Favre initially was a quarterback who I really loved growing up," he said. "I loved his gunslinger ability and mentality when he was on the field. I also really looked up to Tom [Brady], and I've been able to spend some time and listen to him. Right now, I would say guys like Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield have been the guys I've watched the most. I love watching Matthew Stafford as well.

"The game of football is such a small circle, so when you're able to find little pieces that guys have in their game and try to put it into yours and learn from them when you watch their tape, I think that's super important. So my film study has gone in depth trying to learn what the greats do in order to help my game out."

If he lives up to expectations, perhaps one day draft prospects will be studying his film as they prepare for their own NFL journey.