Opinions are cheap this time of year when it comes to draft prospects, but the opinions of former scouts and NFL execs will at least turn some heads. Former Pittsburgh Steelers pro personnel coordinator and Buffalo Bills general manager Doug Whaley has some notable opinions about Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart and where he falls in the QB pecking order for the 2025 NFL Draft class.
“I think he’s gonna be a solid pro. I went in there and I didn’t wanna like him ’cause everybody else did. I like to be contrarian once in a while. But I’ll say this: I like him better than Shedeur Sanders,” Whaley said Wednesday via 93.7 The Fan’s Morning Show.
Opinions have been all over the place on this quarterback class. Cam Ward and Sanders have been QB1 and QB2 respectively for much of the process, but media narratives seem to be down on Sanders lately and high on Dart. At the beginning of the offseason, Dart was more of a Day 2 prospect, but he’s now routinely being projected in the first round by national draftniks.
If you have read any of the recent mock drafts from ESPN or NFL Network, Dart has been mocked to the Steelers in the vast majority of them. It’s almost approaching last year’s Amarius Mims or Jackson Powers-Johnson level of Steelers mock draft frequency.
Whaley thinks a quarterback like Dart could make the Steelers competitive in Year 1.
“If he comes in and plays to a level that is a professional, just ’cause the speed of the game, if he gets up to that really quick, he could have them fighting for a definite playoff spot and be competitive into the tournament,” Whaley said.
Adjusting to the speed of the NFL game quickly is far from a given. Whaley also added that having Dart for a year behind a guy like Aaron Rodgers would be a “good situation.”
The Steelers have definitely shown some interest in Dart.
They have a pre-draft visit reportedly in the books and there was interest in him during the NFL Scouting Combine last month. They would have also gotten eyes on him by Mike Tomlin, Omar Khan and others at the Senior Bowl in January.
On top of that, they had assistant GM Andy Weidl at Ole Miss Pro Day last week.
I think a lot of the QB mock draft activity for the Steelers can be attributed to the fact that they haven’t been able to sign Aaron Rodgers yet. It’s interesting that Whaley likes the idea of drafting Dart regardless of what happens with Rodgers.
Here’s a quick analysis from Whaley after watching his tape.
“That might be a nice comparison. A Brock Purdy-type guy. A guy that you can win with, but when he has to put the barrel on his shoulders and call the shot, I don’t know if he’s there yet,” Whaley said. “I don’t know if he has that arm strength and the other thing that really concerns me is his release. It’s a wind-up, kind of slow release. And in the pros those windows are really short and a lot smaller than in the college game. But I think he’s gonna be a solid pro.”
Our Alex Kozora gave Dart a fifth-round grade and said there wasn’t a part of his game that stood out as a defining trait. Given how quarterbacks tend to get pushed up the board, the Steelers may need to take Dart in the first round if they really want him. Especially without having a pick in the second round.
