Report expands on controversial Jaxson Dart, Shedeur Sanders NFL Draft take

One of the more surprising developments of the months and weeks leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft is the fact that multiple teams reportedly have Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart instead of Colorado's Shedeur Sanders ranked as the second-best quarterback in this year's class behind Miami's Cam Ward.

For an article published on Monday, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated addressed Sanders' supposed slide down draft boards amid Dart's alleged rise. 

"I’m having a really hard time finding coaches or scouts who believe Sanders is a first-round talent," Breer wrote. "...What I keep hearing — and this has nothing to do with anyone having some personal issue with Sanders or looking for him to fall in the draft so they can draft him — is that he isn’t a great athlete on tape, doesn’t have exceptional arm talent and too often does things that simply won’t translate to the NFL game." 

Such takes have grown louder since Dart impressed teams from the NFL Scouting Combine through springtime workouts, while Sanders lacked "elite" traits during his pro day audition on April 4. Breer spoke with an unnamed coach about why a club considering spending a first-round draft pick on a signal-caller later this month (other than the Tennessee Titans) may be higher on Dart than Sanders at this stage of the evaluation process. 

Most insiders believe the Titans have decided to make Ward the draft's first choice. 

"The coach I was talking to said, simply, that when you watch those two under duress on tape, you see Dart moving forward and Sanders moving backward. That essentially means that where Dart would climb the pocket, Sanders would bail out the back of it and run away from defenders to create time to throw," Breer explained. "It’s a little thing, but to this coach, it was an example of how Dart’s game may translate to the NFL better..." 

As recently as Monday, reporters and outlets such as DraftKings Sportsbook suggested the New Orleans Saints will spend the ninth overall pick of the draft on Sanders as starter Derek Carr deals with a shoulder injury that could sideline him for a portion of the 2025 season. Interestingly, Breer wrote that "it feels like it’d be surprising" if any team makes Sanders a top-10 selection or even a first-round choice unless an owner gets "involved." 

In short, it sounds as if there's a realistic chance Dart and not Sanders will be the second quarterback drafted on the night of April 24. If such a scenario plays out, it's unclear if Sanders could fall all the way to the Cleveland Browns at the first pick of the draft's second round.