By Billy Watkins
Jaxson Dart’s ascension as a college quarterback ended last Thursday night when the New York Giants traded up to select him in the first round of the NFL Draft, the 25th player taken.
Dart’s first-round destination was surprising to some, totally sensible to others.
He did it the hard way — the way an experienced mountain climber takes on Mount Everest, weathering storms along the way but always making steady, well-earned progress. And also pulling fellow climbers along with him.
So what impressed Rebel legend Archie Manning about Dart’s abilities as he watched him the past three seasons?
“Jaxson has a good arm — not the strongest in the NFL but a good one,” Archie said. “He’s got escapability. He’s tough.
“He got good coaching at Ole Miss, got in a good system for him. Did he benefit from a weak QB class? Maybe. But that has nothing to with him or his ability. I’m really proud of Jaxson.
“But you know what impresses me most about him is what he did between January and the draft. He went to the Senior Bowl, which is always a good thing, and it just sounds like he had a really good week there.
“I thought he would perform well and interview well at the (NFL) Combine. And apparently he did really well there. And then he had an outstanding Pro Day in Oxford. Everybody says, ‘Well, nobody’s rushing the quarterback, nobody’s covering the receivers,. They all should do well.’ But sometimes you want to do so well that it doesn’t go that way.
“So to me, he went three for three leading up to the draft.”
One thing I’ll add: Remember, the Giants moved up via a trade with the Houston Texans to take Dart. A team doesn’t do that in the first round for players they aren’t sold on.
Will he play as a rookie? Nobody knows, including head coach Brian Daboll. The Giants have veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston on the roster, along with Tommy Devito, entering his third year out of Syracuse. Best case scenario would have Wilson or Winston to play well and allow Dart to sit and learn at least until the second half of the season.
Eli didn’t make his first start until November of his rookie year, eventually leading the team to two Super Bowl victories and earning the MVP award in both.
Time is on Dart’s side. He turns 22 in May.
Time is not on Daboll’s side. He appears to be in a win-or-else situation in 2025 after winning a total of nine games the past two seasons.
Dart became the third Ole Miss QB to be chosen in the first round. The first two, of course, were Mannings. Archie was the No. 2 overall pick by the New Orleans Saints in 1971. Eli was drafted No. 1 in 2004 by San Diego but was acquired quickly by the Giants in a trade.
You may be asking: What about the great quarterback Charlie Conerly? He was selected in the 13th round in 1945 by the Giants, when the draft was far from the spectacle it is today.
And the love affair between the Giants and Ole Miss over multiple generations continues. In addition to Conerly, the Giants also drafted All-Pro receiver Buster Poole (1937, seventh round), All-Pro defensive end/receiver Ray Poole (1944, 13th round), All-Pro defensive back Jimmy Patton (1955, eighth round), and All-Pro tight end Evan Engram (2017, first round).
Archie has said he’s always been a Giants fan because of their connection with Ole Miss.
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Dart’s journey has always seemed to include doubters.
Some fans clamored on message boards for Dart to be the backup to transfer Spencer Sanders prior to Dart’s second season in Oxford. I didn’t understand it at the time, and I still don’t.
Dart had put up solid numbers and led the Rebels to an 8-5 record.
It prompted me to write a column with the headline “Doubt Jaxson Dart at your own risk.” It was his first full season as a starter in the SEC. He showed his blood-and-guts style of playing quarterback. I couldn’t grasp what others were seeing — or weren’t seeing.
He finished his college career by leading Ole Miss to 11- and 10-win seasons and became one of the most beloved players in school history.
He surpassed Eli’s school record in passing yards by throwing for 10,617. He was voted first-team All-SEC his senior season and led the league in passing yards.
He also helped recruit most of the portal transfers, who played major roles in the Rebels’ success in 2024.
Kiffin took up for him after a tough upset loss to Florida in mid-November that basically ended the Rebels’ chances to make the playoffs.
“This guy puts a lot into Ole Miss and this team and Ole Miss football, as much as any player I’ve ever seen, maybe more,” Kiffin said. “He took (the Florida loss) really hard. He really felt like he let down the team, the whole city of Oxford. Pretty unique to have a quarterback (sleep on my couch Saturday night) — that upset that he let everybody here down. He actually, when you watch the film, played great till the end of the game. He made great throws … worked through some tough situations.”
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Before and during his senior year, the national media focused more on other quarterbacks: Cam Ward, Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders, Quinn Ewers, Jalen Milroe, Will Howard and Riley Leonard.
Ward proved his worthiness, becoming the No. 1 player selected in this year’s draft. The rest? All drafted in later rounds or not at all.
And know this: The NFL is a business. Especially at quarterback the most important position on any team because it’s so hard to find QBs able to thrive at the pro level.
The slide by Shedeur Sanders in this year’s draft was a business decision. Nothing more. The good thing is, Sanders will have his chance to prove all the naysayers wrong. Cleveland took him in the fifth round.
And Dart, after planting his personal flag at the summit of his collegiate mountain, will start a new ascent, the toughest in the football world. He will attack it the only way he knows how: Grit, talent and a want-to that I haven’t seen in a long time.
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Note: Ole Miss had eight players drafted, a school record since the draft was trimmed to seven rounds in 1994.
In addition to Dart: DT Walter Nolen, first round and 16th overall, Arizona Cardinals; WR Tre Harris, second round, Los Angeles Chargers; CB Trey Amos, second round, Washington Commanders; Edge Princely Umanmielen, third round, Carolina Panthers; WR Jordan Watkins, fourth round, San Francisco 49ers; LB Chris “Pooh” Paul, fifth round, Los Angeles Rams; DT J.J. Pegues, sixth round, Las Vegas Raiders.
I have been an Ole Miss fan for many years and Jaxson Dart will go down as one of my favorite players of all time. This kid left everything on the field in every game and took hits that would have put most out of the game. Jaxson’s best attribute is his leadership as well as how he represented himself and his team on and off the field. He will be a great QB in the NFL and I am now a Giants fan!