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The Dart Chart

By Tim Byrnes

The Dart Chart

Mock Drafts always have a way of resetting themselves after endless movements up and down everyone’s draft board. Notepads come out each year, and millions of amateur GMs start researching college players for the NFL Draft.

Mine looked something like-
QB1-Matthew Stafford
QB2-Jimmy Garoppolo
QB3-some guy named Stetson(???)

At pick #26, Miami quarterback Cam Ward will be in the wind, as will Shedeur Sanders from Colorado.

Leaving Jaxson Dart, Quinn Ewers, and Dillon Gabriel as my potential QB draftees.

I had Dart going 56th in the second round and the third-best-rated quarterback. As Draft Day approaches, Dart has been seen in the Top 10 and in the third round, but most have him in the more reasonable 20s.

Dart, 6’2″, 225 lb from Kaysville, Utah, was the 2020 Gatorade National Prep POY and MaxPreps National POY in his senior year, throwing for 4,691 yards (62Tds/4Ints). He also ran for 1,195 yards and 12 additional touchdowns that year.

To round out life in high school, he added honor roll and was a two-time All-State third baseman who batted .467.

Muy bien!

The Dart Chart Part II

After a year at USC, Dart transferred to Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin, where he finished with well over 3,000 college snaps.

He has excellent physical attributes and a strong arm. In his senior campaign, he threw for 4,279 yards (29tds/6Ints) and ran for 495 yards and six additional scores. He played well against ranked programs for all four years of college and is the kind of quarterback people follow.

He will translate well to the NFL because a Lane Kiffin offense is cerebral, high tempo, and usually demands quick reads. Kiffin uses an NFL practice style that prepares mentally as much as physically.

For Dart, being good at those short and medium throws is essential, as Ole Miss uses emphasis throws less than twelve yards.

His fast release, when on the move, has a hitch to it and comes out looking like a slider, and it works well when he changes arm angles.

While good in the Red Zone, he has footwork issues that show when he has less field to work with.

He tip-toes when leaving the pocket and the ball tends to sail if he has to release it quickly.

Footwork help will improve his weaker short game, while his medium and deep game are superior.

Jaxson focuses on his primary receiver a little too long and tends to throw off his back foot. This creates self-imposed “all-arm” throws, but his arm strength mitigates some of the negative ramifications.

The man is a leader, and he is the type of football player that will lower the shoulder pads and put a hurt on you. It will be unsustainable for him to play like that at the next level but his past ‘pad sticks’ show he is all heart.

If he’s there at #26…It’s a no-brainer choice.

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College Stats
USC
*2021-1,353 yards (9Tds/5Ints)/43 rush yards-2Tds
Ole Miss
*2022-2,974 yards (20Tds/11Ints)/614 rush yards-1Td
*2023-3,364 yards (23Tds/5Ints)/391 rush yards-8Tds
*2024-4,279 yards (29Tds/6Ints)/495 rush yards-3Tds