Why Jaxson Dart Is Not 'The Steal of the Draft'

At the end of Thursday night, the Los Angeles Rams could have the future of the NFL on their roster. According to ESPN's Dan Orlovsky, Ole Miss quarterback and Rams target Jaxson Dart is the steal of the draft.

"Yeah, for me, he's the guy that two or three years from now, we look back and go, man, people were wrong on him. He's the steal of the draft, essentially." Said Orlovsky. "I just believe Greenie when you watch his tape. He's so similar to Bo Nix last year, and wow, a lot better than I anticipated. I think you got to build crossers into his game."

.@danorlovsky7 says Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart could be "the steal of the draft" 👀

"He's the guy that two or three years from now we look back and go, man, people were wrong on him." pic.twitter.com/JmUE9stE02
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) April 21, 2025

"Ole Miss did it a ton, and his ability to see the defense with the ball fake and that backside defender, what type of throw is needed. He sits a little bit of a touch throw, working the middle field, I think Kellen Moore and crossers man coverage peaks the backside tight end sees the corner at the bottom screen. Run with the tight end."

The problem with that arument is that Dart did do it a lot...against terrible teams. There is a reason why Ole Miss did not make the College Football Playoffs.

How many signature wins did he have in college? Pair that with the heartbreaking losses and a clear picture gets painted.

"That tells the quarterback I have man to man coverage. Now you have a trailing defender, so that ball has to be thrown with a little bit more of a firm type of ball. Led to space, beautiful throw open to that receiver on that crosser. Teams who draft Jaxson Dart, the team will have to make this a part of their offense."

Dart can make the throw. Can he diagnose coverages? Defenses will stack the line of scrimmage and blitz him all day long. They will have success doing so as Dart has never been forced to run an NFL offense

"Same type of thought process that crosser this time that backside defender sits there. You see the ball get firmed right now and then arm strength. When you're drafting these guys, arm strength is a necessary thing in the first round. This ball is bottom of the hash. That ball is out of his hands before that receiver is going to run an out route."

Arm strength is key. Touch is more important. Will Dart have both? It's hard to say he will when he didn't have it consistently in college.

"It's about a 24 yard throw, and it's thrown on a line, right on that guy's face mask. So when you're talking about a guy that has physical traits, sees the field well. Wasn't given a lot when it come to ease an offense, the ball to get pushed down the field. For me, since day one, it's been Jaxson Dart is the intrigue."

Orlovsky has played in the NFL, studied the NFL, and if he's saying Dart is a steal, who knows what teams may agree with his expert opinion. Time will tell if the Rams are one of those teams.

The good news is that the Rams wouldn't need to incorporate anything Orlovsky said into their offense, as they already run those concepts. If the Rams do select him, there is a reason.

However it's hard to see that upside when there is a lot of bad film against good teams. Steal of the draft seems to be a bit of a stretch.

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