Every NFL Draft is filled with fascinating questions.
Often, those questions center on the quarterback position. Some years the main debate lands on “who is QB1?” Other years the debate regarding quarterbacks has fans and evaluators discussing who is QB2, or how many quarterbacks land in the first round.
This year, the debate likely boils down to who emerges as QB3.
Consensus favors Cam Ward to come off the board with the first overall selection to the Tennessee Titans. Next on the QB list is Colorado passer Shedeur Sanders, who could land anywhere from the Cleveland Browns at No. 2, to the New Orleans Saints at No. 9, or perhaps somewhere else. For example ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. has Sanders coming off the board at No. 9 to the Saints in his final mock draft.
Right now the debate over QB3 seems to have a leader, in Mississippi QB Jaxson Dart. Kiper’s final mock has Dart coming off the board third to the Los Angeles Rams, but contained in Kiper’s writeup of Sanders to the Saints is something that is rather instructive here. Kiper notes that Sanders is his QB1, which is always important to remember.
It just takes one team to love a prospect for the analysis to change.
With that in mind, is Dart QB3? Is there another option? Here are the two main contenders for that spot, but you might have someone else in mind, dear reader.
So you tell us: Who is QB3?
Jaxson Dart is QB3 because he’s willing to take a punch — Mark Schofield
Many traits enter into a quarterback evaluation. Arm talent, accuracy, footwork, decision-making, and athleticism are all featured prominently on scouting reports. Questions such as character and leadership often figure into the equation.
Then there is a trait that often simmers below the surface, but in many ways, there is no substitute for it.
The willingness to stand in the pocket, accept that a human being much bigger, stronger, and faster than you is about to yeet you into the shadow realm, and still stand in the face of that threat to make a throw.
Quarterback is a position with so many complexities, which makes grading the position one of the hardest things to do in the evaluation space. Beyond what traits matter there is the factor of how those traits are weighed in the evaluation. If a quarterback does not have an elite-level arm, can they make up for that through decision-making and processing speed? If they lack elite athleticism, can they balance that out with arm talent?
But there is no substitute for being willing to stand in the pocket knowing pain is coming your way.
It is perhaps the most unnatural trait in sports, up there with climbing into the boxing ring or diving into the corner at Indianapolis Motor Speedway at 245 miles per hour with a wall in front of you. Every natural human thought in your brain tells you to run. To flee. The flight response kicks in.
But will you, instead, fight?
That is the part of Jaxson Dart’s game that truly stands out to me. The willingness to stand in the pocket in the face of pressure and make a throw, knowing both that the play requires him to do that, and that pain may very well result. Take this example from Dart’s bowl game against Duke:
The Blue Devils bring pressure here, as Dart works this smash concept into the boundary between his tight end on the corner route and the running back underneath. He knows the big hit is coming — perhaps multiple big hits — but he hangs in the pocket and makes the throw, fighting in the face of pressure.
Or take this throw against Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl:
Consider the situation here: Mississippi faces 3rd and 5 in the red zone, in the fourth quarter, of a one-score game. The Bulldogs bring a Cover 0 blitz, and Dart knows they do not have the numbers in protection to block everyone. Someone is coming free.
He hangs in the pocket, and throws a dime on a seam route, taking another hit in the process.
But he then gets to celebrate.
There are certainly questions about Dart’s overall evaluation, starting with how well the offense he ran at Mississippi will translate to the NFL, and how well that offense prepared him for said transition.
But when it comes to one of the most unnatural parts to playing the position, Dart has that down pat.
That speaks volumes about what he can be at the next level.
Jalen Milroe’s upside makes him QB3 — JP Acosta
While it’s not always pretty, Alabama QB Jalen Milroe has all of the tools and upside to be considered QB3 in this class. After a couple of up and down seasons at Alabama, Milroe is off to the NFL, where I think his tools will speak to many more teams than people believe. First off, he enters the NFL as one of the best athletes at the position that we’ve ever seen. At 6’2 and 220 pounds, he has a thick lower body that allows him to drive through contact and the vision as a runner to find open lanes. On top of that, he’s one of the most explosive ballcarriers in a draft loaded with those types of guys. I mean, how many people do you see doing this?
As a passer, I do think his skillset needs some polishing and his mechanics are rough around the edges, but there aren’t many guys with his tools and ability to work the ball downfield in real offenses. His ability to hit the deep ball is among the best in the class (top five in the QB class according to Cory Kinnan), and his feel and pocket movement show a lot of positive signs.
You can make a lot of things happen on an NFL field when you’re the best athlete on the field, and for Milroe that gives him a much higher ceiling than most QBs in this draft class. I’m of the belief that most of these guys past the top two need to sit for at least a year (and you can even convince me on the top two not needing to start right away), so if you’re wanting to develop a guy, I’ll take the guy who could become a monster dual threat if under the right coaching.
Milroe is my QB3, and one of the only guys I’m willing to take a chance on early Day 2.
