If imitation truly is the most sincere form of flattery, then consider the Philadelphia Eagles and Super Bowl MVP quarterback Jalen Hurts as flattered as you could be.
NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah has the Pittsburgh Steelers projected to draft Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart in the first round (No. 21 overall) in the 2025 NFL draft in his latest mock draft, with the NFC North franchise focused on landing “the next Jalen Hurts.”
“With Jackson Dart, I’ve used this before, but he, he does remind me of Jalen Hurts,” Jeremiah told Sports Illustrated on March 18. “Jalen Hurts, who wasn’t a finished product coming out, but when you watched him every year in college, he got better and better and better. They’re both strong, sturdy guys. You look at the way they can move around. Obviously, Jaxson Dart doesn’t move around quite like Hurts does, but he rushed for over 1,500 yards in his three years in the SEC. He’s athletic. So all those things together, I thought, man, you could find some similarities there.”
Hurts is near the top of the NFL quarterback pyramid after leading the Eagles to a 40-22 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX on February 9 on the way to being named Super Bowl MVP. It was the second Super Bowl appearance for the Eagles with Hurts since he took over as starting quarterback in 2021.
While the Steelers await word on who will be their starting quarterback in 2025 — likely Russell Wilson or Aaron Rodgers — they actually might be loathe to waste another first round pick on a quarterback so soon after they drafted Kenny Pickett in the first round (No. 20 overall) of the 2022 NFL draft but traded him to the Eagles after 2 seasons.
Dart Gains First Round Grade Late in Draft Process
It’s only been in the last few weeks that Dart has risen to becoming the third quarterback with a first round grade joining potential No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders, and some mock drafts have Dart going as high as No. 9 overall to the New Orleans Saints.
Dart and Hurts are almost the exact same size — Dart is one inch taller at 6-foot-2 but both weighed in at 223 pounds — and do have similar skill sets.
They both also had similar paths in college. Both started off as high profile recruits at one Power 4 School before finishing their career at another, with Dart going from USC to Ole Miss and Hurts going from Alabama to Oklahoma.
Hurts Vastly Outpaced Dart in Terms of College Stats
Comparing their stats from their fourth and final college seasons shows 2 players who might not be as similar as the Steelers or anyone else wants them to be.
In 2024, Dart earned All-SEC honors by throwing for 4,279 yards, 29 touchdowns and 6 interceptions to go with 495 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns as Ole Miss went 10-3.
In his final college season at Oklahoma in 2019, Hurts was named All-Big 12 and Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year after he threw for 3,851 yards, 32 touchdowns and 8 interceptions while rushing for 1,298 yards and 20 touchdowns as he led Oklahoma to a 12-2 record.
Hurts was drafted by the Eagles in the second round (No. 53 overall) of the 2020 NFL draft.
