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NFL Exec Rips Lane Kiffin in Jaxson Dart Criticism

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Austin C. Boyd | Last updated Apr 23, 2025 12:54 PM ET

Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft is on Thursday, and one of the most interesting players to watch will be former Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart. There was some first-round hype surrounding him following the NFL scouting combine, which led to him getting invited to attend the NFL Draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

However, he recently made the decision to watch the draft from home instead. That could just be because he wants to be around friends and family, but it could be because he doesn't expect to be a first-round pick anymore.

Dart has all the physical tools a team wants from an NFL quarterback, but teams seem divided on him. A big reason for that could be due to his college head coach Lane Kiffin.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero recently spoke to coaches, scouts and executives around the NFL to get intel on the top quarterback prospects. One AFC executive had some harsh words for Kiffin when talking about Dart.

"I could teach my dog to (expletive) run those concepts," the AFC executive told Pelissero. "[Kiffin] makes it very simple."

Though Kiffin has an NFL background, there's real concern that his quarterback-friendly system doesn't help groom quarterbacks for the NFL level. However, one AFC coordinator defended Kiffin and Dart.

"[Kiffin] has actually gotten back to some of his old-school West Coast roots, doing some more conceptual stuff," the AFC coordinator said. "I think it has to do with the fact that he trusts the guy. [Dart]'s got a little (expletive) to him, too. He plays like Baker (Mayfield) -- he just doesn't throw it quite as good as Baker does."

Dart clearly has fans around the NFL, but it remains to be seen if any team will like him enough to use a first-round pick on him.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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