DJ Siddiqi is a sports reporter who focuses on football, basketball, baseball and pro wrestling. He has covered some of the biggest sporting events, including the NBA Finals and Wrestlemania and often interviews high-profile athletes....
Read Full BioDan Orlovsky is very high on NFL draft prospect Jaxson Dart.
The 21-year-old quarterback and first-team All-SEC selection is considered by some to be the third-best quarterback in the draft and could possibly be selected in the first round. Dart threw 29 touchdown passes for nearly 4,300 yards during the 2024 season.
Orlovsky — a former 12-year NFL veteran at quarterback himself — says that Dart reminds him of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.
“The guy that I’ve comped him a little bit too has been Jalen Hurts,” Orlovsky told Casino Beats in an exclusive interview while discussing the NFL x AWS Draft IQ platform. “He’s gotten better as a passer throughout his collegiate career. As a runner, he’s just a bull, he’s a tough dude to bring down when he runs. While Jalen Hurts isn’t this ridiculous vertical athlete, it’s just a tough tackle and kind of a boxer frame that’s a little bit like Jaxson Dart.”
Dart is 6-foot-2 and 223 pounds, which is almost an exact replica of Hurts’ frame at 6-foot-1 and 223 pounds. The Ole Miss alum isn’t as reliant on the run game as Hurts is, but he can run the ball and he does it often, carrying the ball 124 times for 495 yards during his senior season.
However, Dart is considered a clear tier below the likes of the top two quarterback prospects, Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders. Ward will likely go No. 1 overall to the Tennessee Titans, while Sanders is more of a guessing game. Sanders could very well go No. 2 or No. 3 to the Cleveland Browns or New York Giants, but he could also slip in the draft.
Despite Sanders’ wide draft projection, Orlovsky says he would be “surprised” if Dart went before the Colorado Buffaloes alum. However, he says anything can happen in the NFL draft and mentions that he does see both Dart and Sanders fitting with the Pittsburgh Steelers, while giving Dart a slight edge when it comes to stylistic fit.
“I still would be surprised by that,” says Orlovsky of Dart going before Sanders. “I’ve been higher on Dart than other people, and physically talented Jalen (Milroe) as well. I still would be surprised if the three in total (Ward, Dart and Milroe) went before Shedeur or I still would be surprised by that. But it’s the NFL, being shocked is something that never happens with me.”
Orlovsky: Dart ‘An Impressive Physical Talent’
One of the hang-ups that Orlovsky has about Dart is his “lazy feet.” He explains why this is an issue, but says this flaw can be fixed once he gets to the NFL.
“The big issue that I have with his game is he’s lazy with his feet,” says Orlovsky. That’s something that shows on tape. When you’re lazy with your feet, you’re lazy with a lot, you just are. You’re lazy with your eyes, you’re lazy with your mind, you’re lazy with your decision making. That’s something you could coach out of him, absolutely.”
One of the players that Orlovsky also compares Dart to is former New England Patriots first-round pick Drake Maye. The comparison comes about in that both players are talented but also struggled with lazy mechanics. Maye did well last season in his rookie year despite playing for a 4-13 team, notching a Pro Bowl bid while throwing for 15 touchdowns to go along with 421 rushing yards.
Orlovsky continues to rave over Dart’s arm strength, which is something he does not see in Sanders, comparing him more to Brock Purdy and Tua Tagovailoa in being an accurate, short-passing game quarterback.
“I felt that way about Drake Maye last year,” says Orlovsky of his lazy feet. “He’s an impressive physical talent. He throws the ball downfield. The contrast is, I’ve mentioned Shedeur threw so much at or behind the line of scrimmage. They didn’t do that a lot at Ole Miss. Ole Miss was chuck and duck, throwing it down the field as much as possible, high risk and high reward. Stylistically, there’s a little bit of Jalen (Hurts) to his game.”
Orlovsky Predicts Ashton Jeanty to Chicago Bears
Another intriguing prospect entering the draft is none other than Ashton Jeanty. The top-ranked running back prospect and Heisman Trophy runner-up is expected to be a top 10 pick, but the question is where?
When asked about where he sees Jeanty landing, Orlovsky dismisses the Jacksonville Jaguars (Jeanty’s hometown) because they already have two running backs in Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby. He also passes on the idea of the Las Vegas Raiders due to their woeful offensive line.
“I really like Jeanty,” says Orlovsky. “Everyone’s attaching him to the Raiders. I just don’t see the Raiders because their offensive line isn’t good. They had the worst rush yards per game in the last 30 years in the NFL, bottom 10 run game, offensive line, protection wise, and blocking wise.”
Orlovsky uses the NFL x AWS Draft IQ platform — which helps predict NFL draft picks based upon team needs and their prospect evaluation tendencies — to determine that he sees Jeanty landing with the Chicago Bears at No. 10.
“I think the best place for him would probably be Chicago,” says Orlovsky of Jeanty landing with the Bears. “Ben Johnson comes from Detroit, dynamic run game, get him downhill under center and I also think drafting him without the proper offensive line, you’re wasting the pick.”
