It’s not the grandest endorsement of a pick when the draft analyst immediately says he’d rather have the player that the team passed on.
That’s how ESPN’s NFL draft expert Mel Kiper began his assessment of new Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart after Big Blue traded up to select him and forego selecting Shedeur Sanders.
“Surprised he went ahead of Shedeur, not shocked, because (coach Brian) Daboll wants mobility,” Kiper said.
Kiper then used most of his time discussing the No. 25 pick in the draft to tell you why there are concerns about the Giants’ selection in somewhat of a curveball from usual draft discourse.
It’s normal during draft season to hear how great each pick is and how every prospect has the potential to be a star, with a common refrain being, “I can’t believe how this guy fell to the 20s or 30s.”
To listen to Kiper on Dart after he landed with the Giants informed the viewer that, well, basically Dart’s numbers improved each season and he has dual-threat capabilities.
You didn’t hear about arm strength or ability to lead or how he progresses through his reads, traits that quarterbacks want to be associated with.
“Jaxson Dart can beat a defense with his legs,” Kiper said. “His completion percentage every year under (Ole Miss coach) Lane Kiffin improved — sixty-two percent, 65 percent, culminated with 69 percent this past year. Touchdown plays, 20 to 23, 29 this past year, 11 rushing touchdowns the past two years, 1,500 rushing yards the last three years at Ole Miss.”
You did hear, however, how Dart flopped in big spots, while Sanders allegedly did not.
Kiper referenced Dart’s performances against LSU, Georgia and Florida, with the first two representing ranked opponents and the third a game Ole Miss needed to win in its College Football Playoff berth hunt.
Dart completed 57.1 percent of his passes and tossed one touchdown and one interception in a 29-26 loss to LSU and completed 59.1 percent of his throws with a 1:1 ratio again in a 28-10 win over Georgia.
In the 24-17 loss to Florida that likely put the nail in the coffin of the Rebels’ CFP chances, Dart threw for 323 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions while completing just 58.5 percent of his passes.
Those four total interceptions accounted for two-thirds of his season total, while the completion percentages fell way short of his 69.3 percent season average.
“The concern for me, and the reason I’m a Shedeur guy is, in a big spot, do you come up big?” said Kiper, who had Sanders as his top QB even ahead of No. 1 pick Cam Ward.
“Three big spots he didn’t come up big, Shedeur consistently did despite being harassed.”
Kiper then used the end of his rant to let the world know that when it’s all said and done, he expects Sanders will be better than Dart.
He even compared Sanders to Brett Favre, Joe Montana, Geno Smith and Boomer Esiason in terms of quarterbacks who had others go before them in the draft decisions that have not aged well.
“I like Jaxson Dart, I love Shedeur,” he said. “It doesn’t always go the quarterbacks go in the order they work out in the NFL, so Shedeur I still believe, I’m going to say it until I’m proven wrong after this, the New Orleans Saints are the perfect fit because Pittsburgh’s weather, right, the Giants are weather and the division’s weather, but for Shedeur, like Drew Breers and Peyton Manning that dome would help him so much and give him a chance to have a great career that he’s certainly capable of.”