OXFORD — For just the fourth time in history, Ole Miss has multiple first-round picks in the same draft.
Former Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolen was selected by the Arizona Cardinals 16th overall, and quarterback Jaxson Dart was selected by the New York Giants 25th overall in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft on Thursday night. It’s the fourth time in program history that Ole Miss has had multiple first-round picks in the same draft – 2016, 2009 and 1966. In 1966, Mike Dennis was drafted by the AFL’s Buffalo Bills and Stan Hindman by the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers.
Nolen became the the program’s first first-round pick since Evan Engram went 23rd overall in the 2017 draft and is the first Ole Miss defensive lineman drafted in the first round since Robert Nkemdiche in 2016. Dart is just the third Rebels quarterback ever selected in the first round, joining Eli and Archie Manning. Eli Manning was taken first overall by the San Diego Chargers in 2004 and was traded to the Giants on the day of the draft.
Nolen was a finalist for the Outland Trophy and was an All-SEC and All-American selection in his lone season with the Rebels. He had 6.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss in 2024. Nolen played his first two seasons at Texas A&M and was one of the nation’s top recruits in the 2022 recruiting class out of Tennessee’s Powell High School, where he had 17 sacks and 33 tackles-for-loss as a senior. He played his sophomore season at Olive Branch High School.
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Nolen, one of the top players in the transfer portal last winter, was a key cog in an Ole Miss defense that was second nationally in points per game allowed (14.4) and led college football in sacks per game (four) and tackles for loss (120).
Dart, a three-year starter for the Rebels after transferring from USC prior to the 2022 season, was a first-team All-SEC selection in 2024 and threw for a program-record 4,279 yards, 29 touchdowns and six interceptions. He left Ole Miss as the program’s all-time leader in total offense, passing yards and wins by a starting quarterback.
Ole Miss ranked third nationally in points per game last season at 38.6. Dart led the nation in passing efficiency (180.7) and yards per attempt (10.75) and was fourth in yards per completion (15.5).
Dart was the Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2020 following a senior season at Utah’s Corner Canyon High School where he threw for 4,691 yards and 67 touchdowns and ran for an additional 1,195 yard and 12 touchdowns. He signed with USC in the 2021 class as a four-star prospect and top-100 player nationally, per 247Sports’ Composite. He played in six games as a true freshman for the Trojans and threw for 1,353 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions and entered the transfer portal after the season following a coaching change.
The 6-foot-2, 225-pounder enrolled at Ole Miss for the 2022 spring semester and beat out Luke Altmyer for the starting job after the two alternated starts the first two games of the season. The Rebels started the season 7-0 before losing five of six to close out the campaign. Dart threw for 2.974 yards, 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and ran for 614 yards.
Dart beat out former Oklahoma State starter Spencer Sanders for the job in 2023 and led the Rebels to the first 11-win season in program history and a Peach Bowl victory. He threw for 3,364 yards, 23 touchdowns and five interceptions and ran for 389 yards. He spearheaded the Rebels’ 2024 College Football Playoff push by opting to return for his senior season, which led many of his teammates to follow suit. Though Ole Miss fell short of the CFP due to a late-season loss at Florida, Dart had his best season yet and was the first Ole Miss quarterback to earn first-team all-conference honors by the league’s coaches since Eli Manning in 2004.
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