With the 2024 NFL Draft quickly approaching, detention of all players continues to ramp up, including the future first-rounder Jayden Daniels, who played quarterback for LSU. Daniels is considered by most to be a top-three overall pick; however, like any other quarterback in the draft, there are a lot of questions that won’t be answered until the season kicks off later this year.
Coaches and other players start commenting on potential drafts as we get closer. Please let me play for the team. Matt Lombardo an NFL Insider, shares that an AFC Offensive coach who has asked to be anonymous stated the following:
“Jayden’s a good combo quarterback. He has a big arm with accuracy and feet to extend plays. He’s physically more gifted than Deshaun Watson, but I can’t say yet if he’s more instinctive at this level.”
Jayden Daniels Will Need To Be Fast Mentally
Well everybody loves to have a mobile quarterback, it has been shown time and time again that nobility will only get a quarterback so far in the NFL. Whether it is due to injury or figuring out a scheme to contain a mobile quarterback, very few quarterbacks that rely heavily on their legs have been able to make long and successful careers in the NFL, particularly over the past decade.
When you think about the best quarterbacks in recent memory, names like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, and Peyton Manning all come to mind. Some of them are mobile and can pick up a first down if needed. All four of them are pocket passengers who can make a play outside the tackle box. None of them are run-first quarterbacks.
Jayden Daniels’s passing yards were very impressive, completing 72% of his passes for more than 3800 yards and 40 touchdowns; he also relied heavily on his legs, rushing for more than 1100 yards in 10 touchdowns this past season. Again, the question isn’t whether or not he is mobile. The question is whether or not he will be instinctual enough to decide when to stay in the pocket, run out of the pocket a pass, or take off a run.
2024 Will be Very QB Heavy
There is no shortage of great quarterbacks in this year’s NFL draft. Caleb Williams seems to be the clear number-one choice, but there seems to be a case for Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, and JJ McCarthy all to be taken as the second quarterback in the draft. Additionally, players like Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. are also looming and could be picked up higher than expected if they fit a team’s scheme.
There is not much behind them. Quarterbacks like Spencer Rattler, Michael Pratt, Joe Milton the Third, and Sam Hartman also sit there looking to get drafted. Most years, these guys will be picked up in the second or third round, but it is very possible they will get picked up in the lot around due to the high amount of inventory this upcoming season. Additionally, teams may be looking to pick up a late-round quarterback because next year’s class is not looking quite as strong, with as many prospects returning for the 2024 college football season.