For the first time in eight years, an Ole Miss player was selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Actually, make it two.

Defensive tackle Walter Nolen ended the Rebels’ drought when he was taken by the Arizona Cardinals with the 16th overall pick Thursday night, and later in the first round quarterback Jaxson Dart went to the New York Giants at No. 25.

Nolen was the 24th first-round selection in Ole Miss history, but first since tight end Evan Engram in 2017. Dart’s selection made it only the fourth time ever — along with 1966, 2009 and 2016 — that more than one Rebel was picked in round one.

Twenty-one years after making a draft day trade for legendary Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning, the Giants did it again to get Dart. They sent second-and third-round picks (Nos. 34 and 99 overall), and a 2026 third-rounder to the Houston Texans to move up nine spots for Dart.

Earlier in the first round the Giants used their own pick to take Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter at No. 3 overall.

Dart was projected as a potential top-10 pick, but several quarterback-needy teams went in other directions. Dart was the second quarterback chosen, after the Tennessee Titans took Miami’s Cam Ward No. 1 overall. No other QBs were picked in the first round.

Dart was an All-Southeastern Conference selection in 2024. He led the league in passing yards with a school-record 4,279, along with 29 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also rushed for 495 yards and three touchdowns.

Dart will begin his career on the Giants’ depth chart behind veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, but is certainly their quarterback of the future after the team invested so much to bring him aboard.

Dart is just the sixth quarterback the Giants have taken in the first round since the draft began in 1936.

The 6-foot-4, 296-pound Nolen was ranked as one of the top defensive tackles in the draft after totaling 48 total tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks in 2024. He was a unanimous All-America selection.

Among defenders at all positions, Nolen ranked as PFF’s sixth-best run defender in the nation with a season-grade of 91.6 (No. 2 in the SEC). He was the sixth-best in the SEC in overall season defensive grade (88.9).

Nolen only played one season at Ole Miss after spending the previous two at Texas A&M. He drew comparisons to Los Angeles Rams All-Pro Aaron Donald as a smallish — under 300 pounds — defensive tackle, and hopes to live up to them,

“I feel we have the same mentality when it comes to D-line,” Nolen said during his conference call Thursday after he was picked. “I can’t wait to get out there and hopefully do better than what he did. He set the bar pretty high.”

The New Orleans Saints, who picked ninth, were one of the teams viewed as a potential match for Dart. Instead, they took Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr.

Banks started 42 games at left tackle over three seasons with the Longhorns. He won the Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy in 2024, was named a First-Team AP All-American, and shared the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the SEC’s top lineman while leading Texas to the College Football Playoff.

There was speculation that Banks could play guard in the NFL instead of tackle. He said he’s comfortable at either position.

“I’ll play whatever, man,” Banks said. “If I’m (one of) the best five (linemen) on the field and I get an opportunity to go out there and start and to earn that right, then I’m going to play wherever they put me.”

The Saints also entered the draft with one second-round selection (40th overall), two in the third round (Nos. 71 and 93), two in the fourth (Nos. 112 and 131), one in the sixth and two in the seventh.

The draft continues Friday night with the second and third rounds, and wraps up Saturday afternoon with rounds four through seven.