Making the case: Shedeur Sanders or Jaxson Dart

Yet again, the New York Giants are slated to be selected among the top six in the 2024 NFL Draft; this year, they have the third pick. The Giants still lack a long-term plan for the quarterback position. The Tennessee Titans appear infatuated with Miami quarterback Cam Ward, and it seems like he’s set to be the first overall selection in the draft, albeit anything can happen.

New York signed two veteran quarterbacks, Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston; the former is set to receive the opening crack at starting quarterback. Signing the pair of veterans does not preclude the Giants from selecting a quarterback third overall. But is there a quarterback that piques the Giants’ interest enough to forgo selecting one of the two other blue-chip talents on the board: Penn State edge defenerer Abdul Carter or Colorado cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter?

The two quarterbacks linked to the Giants at three overall are Colorado signal caller Shedeur Sanders and Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart. The former is the son of Deion Sanders, and the latter is close with Giants legend Eli Manning. Let’s start with Sanders.

Shedeur Sanders, Colorado

Strengths

• Good posture in the pocket – maximizes measurables
• Very good footwork on dropback
• Sturdy and good balance in the pocket – solid overall composure
• Does well to maneuver and navigate within the pocket
• Keeps eyes downfield when pocket gets muddy
• Smoothly gets his body oriented in quick game
• Displayed excellent patience to wait for second/third window throws
• Good fluid OVER THE TOP throwing motion – effortless
• Smart quarterback with sound comprehension on how to attack defenses
• Intelligent pre-to-post snap work
• Plays well within play structure
• Plus asset in a short – rhythmic – passing attack
• Creative mind to improvise (lack of athletic ability and arm talent hold him back from maximizing this skill-set)
• Displayed good anticipation over the middle of the field (seam, DIG)
• Good overall touch and pacing over the MOF
• Understands how to throw between the numbers (timing, placement, touch, etc.)
• Hits the upfield shoulder of WRs on seam and skinny posts over the MOF
• Excellent timing on his passes
• Displayed quality touch and pacing in the red zone
• Solid overall accuracy
• Distributes the football well in the short-intermediate parts of the field
• Very used to playing under pressure – stands tall in the pocket
• Takes massive hits and gets right back up
• Elite toughness

Weaknesses

• Slightly undersized
• Below-average athlete: speed, acceleration, and explosiveness
• Struggled to escape sacks in college (athletic & OL issues)
• OL was poor but developed a tendency to bail cleaner pockets
• Can drift in the pocket too often
• Devastating losses trying to escape sacks
• Tendency to burp the baby before releasing football
• Passes lack velocity
• Ball tends to float – lack of zip
• Below-average arm strength
• Deep passes tend to die in the air
• Accuracy wasn’t always pin-point – especially on short passes outside the numbers
• Lackluster off-platform thrower
• Had tendency to skip or low-ball short passes to his right or left
• Ran NFL concepts but operated mostly out of the shotgun

Sanders is a high processing distributor who operates a quick rhythmic passing attack well, while possessing a creative knack that fails to be fully actualized due to suboptimal athletic ability and arm strength when off platform. Still, Sanders is mechanically sound and flashed WOW throws at each level of the field, albeit not always consistent. Sanders lacks elite physical gifts, but his overall arm talent is solid, especially over the middle of the field. A lack of elite zip and velocity is evident on his tape.

Sanders struggled to escape sacks at the collegiate level; that issue will be gravely exacerbated in the NFL. Yes, his offensive line was VERY POOR, but evading sacks against Big-12 defenders is much easier than NFL defenders, and Sanders tied for most sacks in the entire FBS. He’s not a terrible athlete but his athletic ability is not an asset to his game.

However, Sanders ability to navigate through muddy pockets, stand tall, and deliver strikes before getting hit is very impressive and a testament to his overall toughness, which is elite. Sanders does well targeting in-between the numbers with anticipation and ball placement. He does well to understand the defense pre-to-post snap while operating through NFL concepts in Pat Shurumr’s offense. He’s a quality decision maker who can keep an offense on script and can improvise.

There are a lot of reasons to appreciate Sanders’ skills. Yet, he does not have the tantalizing physical gifts possessed by many current high-level NFL quarterbacks. He can successfully operate an efficient passing attack predicated on processing and timing. He won’t thrive in every system, but an offense with a stable line that allows him to be the point guard, while efficiently attacking defenses can find success with a player like Sanders.

Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss

Strengths

• Slightly shorter but sufficient with solid thickness
• Good athlete with above-average mobility
• Light quick feet on drop back – solid footwork
• Poised under pressure – will take big hit
• Good overall feel in the pocket on when to run, slide, step-up, or bail
• Controlled and balanced mover with above-average ability to throw on the move
• Quickly identified the structure of the defense and found the offense’s answer
• Was able to quickly find answers pre-to-post snap in Kiffin’s system
• Excellent decision making in his offense
• Good overall arm talent with solid arm strength and velocity
• Solid enough arm talent to throw off-platform
• Has enough arm strength to rip far-hash throws
• Good overall accuracy in the short, intermediate, and deep parts of the field
• Pin-point timing on back shoulder fade routes
• Very good processing on when to throw with anticipation
• Can change arm-angle to throw threw the forest
• Understands touch & pacing – has varying speeds on his passes
• Can layer footballs over the middle of the field
• Throws receivers open – leads his receivers to maximize YAC
• Good distributor of the football at every level of the field
• Excellent ability to operate out of the RPO
• Good footwork/patience into the mesh point – puts LBs into conflict
• Reads and is decisive with the ball on RPO and other packaged plays
• Effective runner of the football
• Has good overall vision when taking off
• Is not afraid to lower his shoulder – good play strength and toughness
• Excellent gamer – several big plays in key moments through 2024
• Plays with a chip on his shoulder

Weaknesses

• Good but not excellent athlete – won’t be a calling card of his at the next level
• Played in a simplified Lane Kiffin RPO-system
• Shot-gun exclusive offense
• Was not pressured much in Kiffin’s system – QB friendly system
• May need to be more crisp and precise with his feet in certain systems
• Transition to NFL speed & space may be too much
• Good overall accuracy but will miss some throws that are frustrating
• Questions about processing in the NFL are fair
• Questionable decision making when pressure gets home

Dart is an interesting college quarterback who operated Lane Kiffin’s fast-paced RPO-Spread system efficiently, while leveraging his good overall arm talent to challenge defenses downfield. One of the most controversial parts of Dart’s evaluation is the transition from Kiffin’s offense – which provided isolated QB-friendly reads and packaged RPO plays – to the NFL, where space is limited and the defensive athletes move much faster. Coaches and people with access to Dart may be able to discern his quarterbacking knowledge beyond Kiffin’s scheme, but it remains a bit nebulous to outsiders. With that stated, there are reasons to believe Dart projects well to the next level.

Dart has good overall arm talent and he CAN push the ball vertically with above-average accuracy. I wouldn’t say Dart has elite arm talent or the biggest arm in the world, but it’s sufficient for the NFL game; he has enough arm strength to access every part of the football field. He is willing to stand tall in the pocket and deliver through contact; he is a tough guy. He’s enough of an athlete to escape muddy pockets at the next level; I would say slightly worse than Bo Nix from last year’s draft, who just rushed for 430 yards in his rookie season.

Overall, Dart is about to experience an entirely different – and possibly more challenging – way of playing quarterback, for the NFL is not conducive to the style he thrived within over the last three seasons. Dart was obviously comfortable in Kiffin’s scheme – that’s a good thing! Still, the conjecture about his transition may be detectable in a meeting room or during a workout, but the true nature of that transition may not be ascertained until semi-live reps (training camp). I am also slightly concerned about Dart’s decision making under pressure, which he should see much more of in the NFL. Nevertheless, due to his projectable traits, Dart is a solid prospect to bank on for development.

Final verdict

If I’m choosing between Sanders or Dart, I’m comfortably going with Sanders. However, they’re two different quarterback prospects with wide projections. Sanders is mechanically sound with a limited ceiling and lacks spectacular arm talent and physical traits. He wins with his mind and timing; he must consistently throw with anticipation and win from within the pocket to reach his potential. The way Tom Brady won exemplifies Sanders’ best path to success, but Brady — obviously — is one of a kind.

Dart is different. Kiffin’s system simplified the offense, yet Dart efficiently thrived with his tasks within the offense. Still, prognosticating his skill set from a mental standpoint to an NFL offense against NFL defenses is difficult. Dart does possess above-average arm talent, is a better athlete than Sanders, and is also a tough — stand in the pocket — type of player.

Ultimately, I don’t want either Sanders or Dart at three overall. Depending on availability, I want the Giants to select either Abdul Carter or Travis Hunter. If I had to choose, though, I would select Sanders over Dart.