Shedeur Sanders had the lead on Jaxson Dart, and then reality struck. After the first round, the two roles were reversed, with Sanders stuck waiting at least one more day.
Jaxson Dart’s draft stock was behind Sanders for pretty much the entire offseason until late in the evening of the first day of the 2025 NFL Draft. It was only when the New York Giants drafted him that it was apparent a switch in the quarterback rankings was in order.
The other big moment was when the Pittsburgh Steelers, sitting at 21, had the option to draft either Dart or Sanders, but they refused. The Steelers’ choice stunned fans just before the Giants took Dart after trading back up into the first round.
Overall, the twist of fate in the 2025 NFL Draft could be a mystery dissected for years to come. However, one NFL insider has his own analysis of what happened with each quarterback.
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Jaxson Dart brings “different elements”
Speaking on an April 25 edition of “Good Morning Football,” NFL insider Tom Pelissero explained why the Giants traded up to draft Jaxson Dart.
“One reason that the Giants went with Jaxson Dart, not Sanders was they felt like there were more layers to Jaxson Dart’s game.
“Think about Brian Daboll’s offense when he’s been successful. It’s been with Josh Allen in Buffalo, big physical athlete who can get out in space, move, knock somebody over. It’s like with Daniel Jones,” he said.
He added: “The first year in the Giants. They go to the playoffs. They win a playoff game in Minnesota, Brian Daboll was the toast of the town. He was the coach of the year with Jaxson Dart.
“He brings different elements, the RPO, it is the read options. There are things he can do as a runner that you’re probably not going to do with Shedeur Sanders.”
Jaxson Dart led the SEC in completion percentage, passing yards, yards per attempt, and additional categories in 2024. Now, he has his shot with the Giants, but that leaves the question of what happened to Sanders.
How many teams had Jaxson Dart above Shedeur Sanders
Speaking during the April 25 edition of “Good Morning Football,” Tom Pelissero questioned whether Sanders slid at all.
Pelissero said: “When there are only so many teams that are even in the first round quarterback market, you can say, yeah, he’s sliding. But is it actually a slide?”
“What I would say is this is probably right around where, if you were being realistic about it, and taking his last name out of it, was always where he was going to go.
“He was somewhere in a late first [or] second-round quarterback; there were definitely teams that had him above Jaxson Dart. There were a lot of teams that had Jaxson Dart above Shedeur Sanders,” he added.
Throughout the evaluation process, there were hints.
At the 2025 Combine, Sanders refused to throw in drills. During the event, an anonymous NFL assistant coach called out the quarterback. Then, shortly before the start of the NFL Draft, another anonymous attack on Sanders made waves.
