The 2024 NFL Draft will start on Thursday, April 25. Several quarterbacks, including LSU’s Jayden Daniels, are expected to hear their names called early in the first round. The reigning Heisman winner could be drafted as soon as No. 2 behind Caleb Williams, who is expected to be drafted with the Chicago Bears’ first overall pick.
Daniels spent the first three years of his career at Arizona State playing for the Sun Devils. He played in a COVID-19-shortened 2020 season but totaled 6,025 yards, 32 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 28 games before transferring to LSU. Daniels continued developing for the Tigers, finishing with 6,725 passing yards, 57 touchdowns and seven interceptions over his final two seasons.
Jayden Daniels: Scouting Report
Lance Zierlein, like the vast majority of analysts, has Daniels projected as a first-round pick.
Daniels possesses a rare blend of playmaking talent and command from the pocket. He’s tall but slender, so there will be concerns about durability, considering how often he ran in college. However, teams must also recognize that he has no issues sitting in the pocket and working through progressions as a platform thrower with good mechanics and footwork. Daniels possesses the football intelligence to get himself protected and take care of the football with quality decision-making. He’s an accurate passer over the first two levels and throws with anticipation to slice and dice zone coverages. He had noticeable issues putting deep throws on faster receivers in stride, though. He lacks ideal size and arm talent, but he’s much more capable as a runner and passer than most of the quarterbacks who have moved on to the next level lately.
Mock Draft landing spots
Most analysts have Daniels in the top-3 picks. Granted, with the number of quarterback-needy teams, this means he could land with either the Washington Commanders, New England Patriots, New York Giants, or Minnesota Vikings, depending on who is willing to move up for him.
Fantasy football implications
In general, we typically want to stay away from rookie quarterbacks. C.J. Stroud won the Rookie of the Year Award and finished with 280.5 fantasy points. He led the Houston Texans to the playoffs and was praised for his rookie season. Stroud finished as the overall QB14 in fantasy football. If you think Daniels is a better prospect than Stroud, then by all means draft him in the late rounds of re-draft leagues. But, the reality is that, especially with the projected landing spots for him, he should be avoided in re-draft.
However, in dynasty leagues, Daniels is going to be a high pick in rookie drafts. Caleb Williams, Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze are the only players that I would consider taking ahead of him, and it varies based on landing spot.