Jayden Daniels, LSU Tigers / Jonathan Bachman/GettyImages

Jayden Daniels had a bit of an unorthodox path to the NFL. Starting his college career at Arizona State, Daniels played next to many NFL stars such as Brandon Aiyuk and Rachaad White. Daniels then transferred to LSU after three years, where he was given the keys to potentially one of the most dynamic passing offenses college football had seen since Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Justin Jefferson led the Tigers to a National Championship in 2019. 

In 2023, Daniels threw for over 3,800 yards to star wide receiver prospects Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas while flashing an impressive 72.2% completion percentage. Daniels also accumulated 50 total touchdowns through the air and on the ground, adding over 1,000 rushing yards to boot. Daniels’s impressive 2023 season made him the 38th quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy.

Following a meteoric rise, LSU’s Heisman winner has emerged as one of the single most electrifying quarterback prospects in recent memory and has his sights set on becoming a top-10 selection in this year’s NFL draft. 

Don't want to post SEC A22 film on here but this clip from Reel really highlights what you are getting from Jayden Daniels as a rusher. pic.twitter.com/rmnkt3T4Q6

Key Attributes and Play Style

Jayden Daniels is a fairly accurate quarterback at all three levels of the field. Daniels won’t blow you away in this area, but he is a good pocket passer. Out of the three levels, Daniels excels the most when throwing deep to the sidelines. 

Daniels’ calling card is his elite athleticism and explosiveness as a rusher. Although Daniels has a tendency to take hits, which is concerning, he also has top-notch rushing ability that allows him to make game-changing plays with his legs. Having elite rushing upside gives Daniels a high floor as a prospect. Daniels can get to full speed quickly, and this is particularly useful when evading defenders and escaping from the pocket.

Daniels demonstrates solid footwork and is fairly comfortable in the pocket. Daniels does an okay job of not frequently bailing from clean pockets which is, in my opinion, a pretty under-criticized aspect when studying mobile quarterbacks. It’s what separates guys like Jalen Hurts and Justin Fields from guys like Lamar Jackson. Daniels falls in the basket with Jackson as a guy who can be a pocket-first guy.

Gonna be a rough go in the NFL for Jayden Daniels if he keeps taking hits like this at his size. pic.twitter.com/ztgtkAfjVh

Film Breakdown

Daniels has good, not great arm talent. You can clearly see the zip on Daniels’s throws, especially when he’s able to step into them. Daniels also has an extremely quick release, which I believe to be his best attribute. Daniels doesn’t have the top-end arm talent to make the crazy off-platform throws or throw from different arm angles like you see from some of the NFL’s best at the position, however.

As a true passer, Daniels leaves some room to be desired. At LSU, Daniels simply wasn’t asked to do a whole lot in terms of going through progressions. A lot of this had to do with being surrounded by two first-round talents at wide receiver. Daniels also lacks true timing and anticipation, and really does not attempt throws in the middle of the field at all, which is a major area for concern.

I also have some major questions about Daniels’ ability as a decision-maker and a processor. I mentioned that Daniels does a solid job of not bailing out of clean pockets super frequently, but he still has a tendency to take off and run after his first read. Daniels doesn’t keep plays alive like you would like to see; he just takes off. Once Daniels has an idea of what he wants to do, whether that be who to throw to or to take off and run, he just does it. It’ll get him in trouble at the next level if it continues.

Conclusion

Everyone is high on Jayden Daniels, but I think he is a bit more unrefined than people realize. Daniels is unequivocally a good, exciting prospect and warrants some of the hype he is getting. Daniels is super fun to watch and has a high floor, but having him over Drake Maye is questionable. Putting Daniels in the top 5 is a little much as well.

My comparison for Daniels is Justin Fields. It’s the chalk comparison, but I think it adequately serves as a median outcome for Daniels. Both have their weaknesses throwing over the middle of the field and are elite rushers. For those who don’t know, I am and always will be a mega Fields guy, so this is fairly high praise despite my thinking that Fields still has a higher ceiling than Daniels.

As for a low-end comparison, I had Tyrod Taylor. Taylor showed at the end of last year that he could be a back-end starter in the NFL, and I think the floor on a guy like Daniels (and Fields, for that matter) will always be in the 16-22 range in terms of starting quarterbacks. This is simply due to the natural floor that Daniels's rushing ability provides for an offense.

On the top end, I think you can get to current Kyler Murray as a ceiling outcome for Daniels. Of course, both are strong rushers, but Daniels’ deep ball could be tapped into more to reach a Murray-like ceiling, who is also a guy who doesn’t throw the ball over the middle of the field a whole lot.

Now I “officially” have a second-round grade on Daniels. This doesn’t mean Daniels isn’t worth a first-round pick. My number grading scale doesn’t factor in positional value. With that being said, based on the current state of quarterback prospects I wouldn't necessarily love it, but I would feel comfortable taking Daniels around the pick 15 range in this year's class.

Final Grade: 85.9 - Early 2nd Rounder

For the full grade breakdown see Instagram @KwonScouting.