The NFL Draft is right around the corner and experts are tossing predictions around for who could be selected in the first round. Most mocks have limited themselves to just two quarterbacks being picked on night one: Miami's Cam Ward and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders.
But more and more each day, rumblings are spreading across the country that another signal caller could surprise folks by being picked on April 24. In fact, some of those ruminations have grown to significant speculation that a particular prospect will go ahead of at least one of the already predetermined QBs.
Mississippi's Jaxson Dart is considered the third best QB prospect, per ESPN's Mel Kiper. But some insiders are reporting that interest across the league makes him worthy of a higher pick than he's projected. ESPN's Matt Miller, Jordan Reid and Field Yates all gave Dart at least a three out of four chance of being selected in the first round.
Jaxson Dart's draft hype could cost Shedeur Sanders money
When and where a draft pick is selected could be the difference between millions of dollars on their first professional contract, especially in the first round. If Dart's draft stock is rocketing at the moment, that could impact Sanders' and his bottom line.
The No. 1 overall pick in 2024, QB Caleb Williams, signed a four-year, $39.49 million rookie deal. The floor for the first round draft picks in that class was $12.75 million over the same span. That drastic drop off shows just how serious an impact Dart's steady rise in popularity among draft war rooms could be.
Sanders has been projected to land anywhere from the Cleveland Browns (No. 2 pick) to the Las Vegas Raiders (No. 7 pick), but if Dart shoots up into the Top 10, he could snag a lucrative contract worth more than Sanders'.
That being said, that scenario is still less likely than any other at the moment. All fans, and the every prospect, can do is wait and see what each general manager decides to do on April 24.