2024 Scouting Report: QB Jayden Daniels, LSU
Daniels will very likely be the highest-graded prospect from this class. I don’t believe that Daniels is AS good as the class from last year, Stroud-Richardson-Levis, but Daniels would be up there with them had he been in the 2023 class.
Daniels is without a doubt the best rushing QB in this class, and I would put him in that Lamar-Vick-Cunningham-RG3 echelon of rushing quarterbacks… he’s that good. 1,134 rushing yards, 8.4 per attempt, 10 rushing TDs. All of that is on top of 40 passing touchdowns in 12 games while playing in the SEC. This Heisman was well fought and earned.
Daniels is also a pretty good thrower of the ball and his rushing ability helps that. If teams respect his rushing ability he throws it over top. If teams respect his arm he just takes off and burns them for 5-10+ yards. This isn’t another one of those ‘I can run well so I’m going to rely on it’ situations either. Daniels reads the defense very well and takes off when he has the opportunity to. He doesn’t force it.
Against the tough defenses, Daniels had no problem burning them on the ground, because he’s so good at it, and even more impressive, unlike Maye and Williams, his air attack didn’t suffer nearly as much, and would instead rely on the run more. Daniels is what ‘they’ think and want Williams to be.
- Comparing Heisman seasons
Williams = 68.6% comp. Pct., 324.1 pass yds, 3.0 TDs/0.36 INTs, 27.3 rush yds, 0.71 rush TDs
Daniels - 73.3% comp. Pct., 317.7 pass yds, 3.3 TDs/0.33 INTs, 94.5 rush yds, 0.83 rush TDs
From a high level, the Heisman seasons are equal through the air, and Daniels crushes on the ground, and Daniels does it against a higher level of competition (SEC v PAC-12). Daniels is a Justin Fields who figured out how to throw the ball. What everyone hoped he would become, but he is already there.
Prospect Grade: A/A-
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Jayden Daniels is a slam dunk of a pick for Washington, and that team has had one of the best offseasons in the entire league. The Commanders have an outside chance at winning the NFC East with Daniels and a fading Philly and Dallas team. Like Michael Penix, Daniels is ready to be an NFL starter. The way that teams want it to be in today’s era. I don’t have too much to say about Jayden Daniels, he’s just a great prospect that is poised to take the league by storm… watch out world, the Washington Commanders are coming.
Prospect Re-grade:
For the NFL: A-
For Fantasy Football - A/A+
(Photo by Melina Myers - USA Today)
