I'm never going to have the insight that most of the guys have here, but I really looked at Sanders today and here's what I saw: When has a clean pocket, he has good placement. He puts the ball where it's easy for the receiver to get but hard for the defender. He is accurate on all the throw types. He also can run, so there's that aspect that everyone looks for. There's a lot of things that concern me about him though. He seems small. Some say about 6' 1" and 212lbs. That doesn't eliminate him from success but I'd like to see a bigger guy. Arm strength is only average. Some throws that a strong armed guy can make look easy look a bit harder for him and the windows gets tighter for the WR as the DB can make up ground. That can be fine in college but the NFL is quicker. Another thing is his trait of drifting in the pocket. He took a lot of sacks. 42 last year IIRC, but some were because he drifts backwards in the pocket and puts the tackles at a disadvantage when trying to block. If he would just step up, he could've avoided quite a few sacks. He's a 1st rounder because of the market, but I don't see him separate himself talentwise from some guys that were 2nd rounders in years past. This may sound like a strange comp because he's much more mobile, but IMO, his throwing ability is about the same as Aiden Oconnell. Not strong. Has to anticipate more than average. I think there will be a huge dip in production when it comes to the next level, although he has a chance at success if it plays out right.
The way you asked it seemed like you were wondering what you'd think a general scout would say and not if you were one. This clears it up.
A little late to the party but here’s my input Dart is not top-32. I have I. Around the 35-40 range because of positional value and there’s a drop off after him. Is he going in the first round? Yes but it’ll be a team in the 10-21 range who thinks he can bolster the position because of they have other talent on the roster. If not there, it’s probably late first for a team looking to trade back in to get the 5th year option. As far as Sanders goes, he’s borderline top-32 but he’s going in the top 8. He’s got the bloodline and talent “justify” that. Unfortunately, he’s got to have talent around him, and teams drafting towards the top don’t have an abundance. The kid is pretty talented, but having Hunter made him look better than he actually was. Also, it was embedded in him to take the sacks instead of trying to make throws with tight coverage; to help make his passing stats look great (not throwing it away and not throw INTs to drop comp %). My worry for him is that he’s gonna take a lot of hits from the pocket when going against man because the coverage will be there in the NFL. Sanders is this years Anthony Richardson and JJ McCarthy; in the sense of it hits, it hits big time. If not, then the franchise loses out on 2-5 years of prime play from your stars.
Just a cursory glance at my notes will have Fields as easily a better prospect than Dart coming out, so I'll have to reframe the question for if there are enough similarities to say I would be comfortable with a loosely tangible comp between them. I'll take a few minutes later today to watch some video and respond to a bunch of other posts.
IRISH asked... So, my question is.. coming out of college Fields, does Dart compare to him? You might have to rewatch film. Don’t cheat and just look at stats. _______ Just a two-bit, or 2 cent observation here from a 2 brain cell kinda guy. IMO, Fields clearly came out higher than Dart does now, but Fields had the team called 'The Ohio State Buckeyes', completely surrounded by talent. Is Ole Miss at this juncture comparable and does it even matter? Does this even factor in? Is this apples to oranges?
Got a long-winded response but it has to do with a lot of what I've been thinking/working on for a couple offseasons. Both Trey Lance and Anthony Richardson were 20 years old when they were drafted. Both were selected based on their upside, with limited starting college snaps. Both dealt with injuries early on, which created a situation for lessened snaps to start their careers. Now, it looks like Richardson is going to see a split in first team reps this offseason, going into preseason, which only further limits his reps. The correlation between these two is obvious. The patience that the coaching staff and front offices needed to have in order to get the most out of those players was never afforded, regardless of the injury situation, so the career trajectory has a strong chance of being nearly identical. When you are drafting a 20-year-old kid with limited reps at the most important position on the field, you better damn well be prepared to ride the roller coaster until they have enough snaps at the top of the depth chart to become a competent starter. It's that, or you put them on the bench for more than a season to get them acclimated to how a professional operates. These are still kids, and you have to afford them the opportunity to fuck up and learn from it, and it's a lot easier for them to do that over multiple seasons of practice away from the spotlight of game day starts. Everyone wants to harp on the idea of if you take a passer that high, he needs to start immediately. It's a horseshit line of reasoning for getting it right at the most important position on the field. The emphasis should always be on making sure you are doing your absolute best, with ALL rookie players, to put them in a position for success, because their success is tied directly to yours. Quick summary - When you are drafting a rookie passer based on traits with upside, that has limited college starts, you better be in a position of patience or be willing to create one, or it's more likely to be a wasted pick than not. I don't view Jaxson Dart within the top 32, and I'm more comfortable with him being in that 55 to 65 range. It's interesting that you mentioned @nybites and the drafting of Pickett, because if you watch Jaxson Dart and immediately follow it up with Pickett, it shows that Kenny would have been viewed as a better prospect coming out, IMO. I didn't have a first-round grade on Pickett, and the only quarterback I was comfortable going in the first round of that class was Malik Willis, and that was based purely on the upside of the player. I think all 3 of my top passers in that class graded out as high second round picks that I expected to see one or more of go in the first, which may be a similar situation to what we have this year with a couple players after Ward. If I'm the Colts, I'm not taking Dart at 14. Like @RTTRUTH said, maybe I move back, collect assets and take a swing, but I would be more comfortable in just passing on him in the first and letting someone else take that swing, and if he is there in the second, maybe reevaluate and possibly take him. If he somehow were still available in the third when the Colts went on the clock, yeah, you take him, because I believe you should always stay swinging at that position, within reason. I have Sanders as a top 16 player in this class but considering what they have in the quarterback room in Indy, I don't think he fits in that scenario. I think the Colts would be better served to take a swing at Milroe, if you can get him in the third, or bring in Donovan Smith as a UDFA.
It's difficult for me to comp Dart to Fields. He actually reminds me a bit of a former second round quarterback drafted to the Vikings. Got any guesses, @Willie ?
Holy shit. I didnt know that. I was thinking he was traded to Baltimore or something, sorry to hear he's dead, wow.
Ive a simple question. Why do the betting sites like DraftKings and such have Carter or Hunter going to Cleveland in round 1? Why dont they think the Browns wont go QB? If the Browns dont go QB in round 1, what the hell is their plan?
It's interesting to watch the odds shift around predraft. Last year, the bookmakers nailed the first 4 picks, and had the position right for the 5th, nailed the 6th, had the position right for the 7th... and then totally shit the bed on the 8th. Dallas Turner was favored, and he slid all the way to 17. But that's really just Vegas looking at how the public is betting and setting odds from that standpoint. We will likely see some kind of shift in the days, maybe even the hours, prior to the start of the draft. That's when the sportsbook will look to infuse all of the information they have and possibly push against the betting public to increase money movement. Ideally, for them, we all pay off each other's wagers and they collect on the margins, never paying out a dime. Shedeur is still the overwhelming favorite for the second quarterback off the board and his odds for the Giants have crept up to +160. Here's the thing - If Sanders odds have crept up with the Giants, then he is still in play as a top 3 pick, and that would include Cleveland. It will be fun to see if the odds start moving around some over the next couple weeks, now that we are all but certain Cam Ward will be the #1 overall pick.
Simple question, simple answer. They think those two are simply blue-chip players while Sanders is not. Not sure on QB plan. Maybe you’d get more useful context from @IrishDawg42
100% agree Sanders is not a blue chip player. This class has a dozen guys who look like future all pros, then it gets murky. Read an article on The Athletic, Browns Tanking for QB in 2026. Well Arch Manning is not guaranteed to come out and well Cleveland could have a good season and not be drafting in the top 10. Tell Myles Garret not to win games, see how that goes.
I don't pay as much attention as I used to but when people pose these kind of questions I try to look back to previous years and I see a lot of similarities to the Bo Nix situation last year. Many didn't include him in their 1st round but it only took one team to fall in love with him. I think history may repeat itself.
I'm just glad the Bucs don't need one. This is a tough year to figure whats what. I think he's probably a bottom of the first value.
Jalen Milroe was invited to the Draft. Interesting. I say this is good for the entertainment value. Which team is moving up to get him and how much popcorn do you have in your panty. I burned up a lot of popcorn in 2005 for Rodgers and 2007 for Quinn. Just the look and expressions they had was must see tv.
