Can Jaxson Dart boost his draft stock against Duke in the Gator Bowl?

Bowl season continues tonight with (14) Miss Ole host Duke in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.

The New York Giants clearly need a quarterback for 2025 — and hopefully beyond — and this game will feature one of their best options in Jaxson Dart.

The Ole Miss quarterback is becoming a polarizing player. He boasts impressive production this year (3,875 yards, 25 touchdowns, 6 interceptions), but there will be concerns about whether he was a product of his environment or whether he can make the jump to the NFL.

Ole Miss has a number of future NFL players on their roster, so this will be a good matchup to watch at multiple positions.

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl – (14) Ole Miss vs. Duke

ESPN – at 8 p.m

Miss Ole

Jaxson Dart (QB)

We know the Giants have expressed interest in Dart this year. They were reportedly interested enough to send executives to scout him in person. We don’t know if their interest has waned or just how high they are on him. But the fact that they were interested in him means we should give him a good, close look.

Dart has a tight build at 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, and he mixes very good arm talent with good athleticism. Neither his arm nor his wheels are “elite” on the order of Josh Allen, but certainly more than adequate for pretty much any NFL offense. Dart is one of the more daring quarterbacks in the draft and consistently looks to throw the ball downfield. He leads the FBS in yards on deep passes, and his average target depth was 12.2 yards downfield. His 76.5 adjusted completion percentage is also impressive given his average target depth.

Dart has been very productive over the last three years in Lane Kiffin’s offense at Ole Miss, and came on at a torrid pace this year. He matched Jayden Daniel’s 2023 season in many metrics, and his name is next to both Archie and Eli Manning in the Ole Miss record books. He is also highly respected for his toughness and humility. He returned for Ole Miss’ game against Georgia after suffering an ankle injury and played through the injury despite it obviously hindering him. He also took the blame for the team missing the College Football Playoffs, publicly apologizing for his mistakes at the end of the season.

He also wasn’t able to sustain his high production against better opponents later in the year. There are reasonable questions about how he will translate to the NFL and how much his game will suffer after leaving Kiffin’s offense. Dart is willing to risk hits and had a high pressure to sack rate of 19.2 percent, suggesting he takes too many unnecessary sacks.

Darts could be fascinating to follow during the draft process. His attributes will almost certainly win him fans on coaching staffs and front offices, but teams may be concerned about whether he can make the jump from college to the NFL.

Princely Umanmeilen (EDGE)

Umanmeilen joined the Rebels before the 2024 season, transferring from Florida.

He has a prototypical physique for a modern edge defender at 6-foot-4, 255 pounds and has the versatility to play from a 2-point and 3-point stance. A constant presence behind the line for the Ole Miss defense, he collected 10.5 sacks and 13 tackles for a loss this year. He is an impressive athlete who can shoot into the backfield and win in a variety of ways. He has enough strength to take on blockers head-on, blow past them with athleticism, or force punts by changing his pace.

The Umanmeilen boasts impressive toughness and is producing this year despite spring surgery to repair a torn labrum and a foot injury that cost him two games. He still needs development as a run defender, but he could be an option for a team looking for a designated pass rusher who can grow into an everyone-down player.

Duke

Chandler Rivers (CB)

Rivers doesn’t get much media recognition, but he was named First Team All ACC in 2024. He’s an undersized corner who could be viewed as a “slot only” player by the NFL at 5-foot-10, 180 pounds. But while he’s not getting much buzz (yet), he could turn heads during the draft process. Rivers may be undersized, but he’s a quick, nervous athlete with a good football IQ and instincts. He has good awareness of zone coverage and an ability to slam into receiving windows with his closing offense. Rivers has had 16 passes defensed over the last two seasons, as well as four interceptions – two of which were returned for touchdowns.