Latest ESPN mock draft includes two former Rebels

The NFL offseason has officially begun with the Super Bowl in the rearview mirror and now comes everyone’s favorite part of the offseason: mock drafts.

In reality, mock drafts are rarely right because teams are unpredictable in the draft. For instance, who was predicting the Falcons to draft Michael Penix Jr. at No. 9 overall last year after signing Kirk Cousins a month earlier? Nobody was.

But while mock drafts are nearly always wrong, they’re so much fun to read. Whether you’re reading to see what player your favorite team might pick or where your favorite player will play in the NFL, they’re just fun.

And there won’t be a shortage of mock drafts to consume. One of the newest mock drafts comes from ESPN’s Field Yates and included two former Ole Miss players being selected in the first round. One player (Walter Nolen) wasn’t a surprise, the other was somewhat surprising.

Yates had quarterback Jaxson Dart being selected No. 21 overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Here’s what Yates said about the potential pick:

“Yes, free agents Russell Wilson or Justin Fields could be back. But the Steelers’ pedestrian offense has held them back from playoff success in recent seasons, and Dart had a prolific college career. Over the past two seasons, he has 7,633 passing yards, 51 touchdown throws and 11 interceptions. He’s a capable thrower to all levels of the field and has enough mobility to operate outside the pocket and on the run. Dart also took advantage of Senior Bowl week with a strong showing in front of Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin, who was on the field at each practice.

This projection represents a big rise up the board from where Dart currently ranks outside my top 32, but quarterbacks always have a chance to climb given positional value. Keep an eye on Dart here as we get closer to April.”

The reasoning makes sense and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a team draft a quarterback earlier than his rating may suggest. But there haven’t been many mock drafts with dart being selected in the first round.

But that might be changing.