Night one of the NFL Draft was something special for Rebel fans.
With so many questions regarding their potential first-round picks, Ole Miss had not one but two players go in the first round in defensive lineman Walter Nolen and quarterback Jaxson Dart. Most people assumed that Nolen would go in the first round, but some character questions came up, nothing major but just questioning the fact that Nolen had played at a lot of different schools, dating back to high school.
I’m not going to lie, I had a little bit of a flashback to Robert Nkemdiche once I saw that the Cardinals took Nolen. I think the players are very different though, Nolen has fewer actual character concerns than Nkemdiche
Nolen’s fit in Arizona is excellent, in my opinion. This entire draft process all anyone has been saying is that he needs to go to a place that has a veteran D-line room, who better to teach Nolen to be a pro than Calais Campbell, a known pro’s pro. If he reaches his potential, he will be a top-ten defensive lineman in the NFL at some point.
Now, onto Dart, there have been a wide variety of opinions about the Giants' pick of Dart. Let’s get one thing out of the way: Shedeur Sanders is not a better quarterback prospect than Dart. Is he a more accurate passer and better decision maker? Sure. Is he a better overall QB? No. There is also the fact that head coach Brian Daboll coached Josh Allen in Buffalo, and there are some, not a lot, but some similarities between him and Dart.
Dart will more than likely sit his rookie season, which is for the best, as he still has some things to work on, but if Daboll likes a QB, I’d trust that feeling. Dart could be in the vein of a Jalen Hurts-type quarterback if things work out perfectly.
There are still plenty of Rebels who have yet to hear their name called, a couple of whom should hear their name called on day two.