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There is an elite QB shortage in the NFL.
And because the demand outweighs the supply, it leads to desperate moves, like signing journeymen quarterbacks to deals for over $30 million a year, like Seattle and Las Vegas did.
Talking about two former Jets quarterbacks – Sam Darnold (Seattle) and Geno Smith (Las Vegas).
Minnesota let Darnold walk, just like Seattle with Smith, so their former teams were saying, “Thanks, but not thanks to their contract demands.”
You are paying these quarterbacks over $30 million and where are you going with them? Maybe a first-round playoff game?
Nothing against either player, but they both have been pedestrian players and you could probably sign Cooper Rush for $6 million and get similar results.
Teams are desperate at this all-important position, which leads to overpaying and reaching in the draft, and this brings me to Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart.
Why is this guy being mentioned in the first-round conversation?
Nothing personal, but he’s not a first-round QB, maybe not even a second-round rounder.
“He has enough tools to be drafted, but there are certain things lacking, and if I were a head coach or GM, it would be hard for me to say, ‘we’re getting Jaxson Dart, we are all set,'” said former NFL head coach and OC Jay Gruden.
Gruden doesn’t love his arm.
“His arm talent doesn’t jump off the board at me,” Gruden said. “His arm talent gets him in trouble a little bit.”
His deep ball is flat.
“When you watch him throw a deep ball – does it seem a little flat? asked former NFL QB Colt McCoy, the co-host of Gruden’s podcast. “It’s a line drive. I feel he throws it far, but it’s just flat.”
McCoy also needs to get rid of the ball faster.
“He holds the ball a little too long for me,” McCoy said.
Gruden was bothered by what happened at the end of Ole Miss’ loss to Florida, which probably knocked them out of contention for the 12-team college football playoffs.
“At the end of the game, he throws a pop fly into triple coverage and it’s intercepted,” Gruden said. “Then he got the ball back and threw another pop fly interception. That bothered me. That was a big game for them.”
Dart looks like a third or fourth-round type player.
Gruden compared him to Kenny Pickett, who went in the first round to Pittsburgh, but in retrospect, was more of a middle-round QB.
Mac Jones is another example of a middle-round QB going in the first round due to desperation and poor scouting.
The point of the article is that desperate times lead to desperate measures, and the last thing the Jets need to do this year is reach for a QB like Dart in the first or second round.
They have so many other needs, and they have Justin Fields, Tyrod Taylor, Jordan Travis and Adrian Martinez. Not putting any of them in Canton, but Dart really doesn’t seem to be an upgrade on that group.
So, despite the hype, the Jets need to stay away from this player, at least high in the draft.
April 16, 2025
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