Raiders 2024 NFL Draft: Where do the top QBs rank?
By Jason Willis
3. Jayden Daniels (LSU)
Jayden Daniels is another player who is a well-known commodity in college football who transferred to LSU from Arizona State in 2022 and won the Heisman Trophy last season after posting 3,812 passing yards and 40 touchdowns and 1,134 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground.
The appeal of Daniels is simple: he looks like the fastest man alive when he carries the football and throws one of the most beautiful deep balls you will ever see as he routinely targets his receivers on slot fades down the field and rarely misses.
His arm has plenty of juice to all levels as well and he throws an accurate, catchable football that he does well to deliver with touch.
When he takes off running, he moves in a different gear than everyone else on the field and has running-back-like vision in the open field. Of course, he will have to be willing to slide or get out of bounds at the next level rather than leave himself open to some of the bone-crushing hits he took in college.
Once he does that, NFL teams will wonder why it took so long for him to reach this level of dominance. A talented but unremarkable player through his first four collegiate seasons, what changed in 2023?
On the field, the anticipatory throws are nearly nonexistent and while he will throw backside digs to Malik Nabers, he quite clearly prefers to avoid the middle of the field altogether and is often late to trigger when he does let it loose. Some of the throws he turns down over the middle could get him benched at the next level.
Finally, how will a player with his profile as a dynamic runner last in the NFL at just over 200 pounds? He looks rail thin on the field and will need to protect himself.
A sure-fire top-five selection, Daniels has plenty of physical talent to succeed at the next level but has to land with a play-caller capable of using his legs while also getting him easy looks at downfield passes. If he can learn to attack the middle of the field, he will be a Pro Bowl-caliber player.
Grade: First round.