Jayden Daniels did it all at LSU during the 2023 season, finishing with one of the best seasons ever for a college quarterback.
Daniels completed 72% of his passes for 3,812 yards with 40 touchdowns and only four interceptions. Daniels was equally as dangerous on the ground, rushing for 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns — averaging over eight yards per rushing attempt.
Before the 2023 college football season, Daniels was not considered a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft. However, after Daniels lit up the SEC, his stock soared, continuing his trend of getting better in each of his five college seasons.
What’s not to love about a dual-threat quarterback in today’s NFL, right?
One of Daniels’ pro comparisons was to Ravens star Lamar Jackson. Yet, most everyone agreed that Daniels was a much more advanced passer coming out of college than Jackson.
The Washington Commanders used the No. 2 overall pick on Daniels, believing he would end their never-ending search for a true franchise quarterback.
Daniels has impressed everyone in Washington thus far. His work ethic and knowledge of the offense have caught everyone’s attention. So, what is the biggest concern heading into his rookie season?
Bleacher Report recently ranked NFL quarterbacks ahead of the season. Daniels was ranked 28th.
Why?
The one knock is Daniels’ frame. Even though he’s 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, some say he remains too skinny. We’ll see about that. The next criticism from B/R felt strange.
“I also worry about, more importantly, that he is a pocket or scrambler,” Bleacher Report said. “He is not a extender of plays. And typically is not what we see from (Patrick) Mahomes, (Josh) Allen, (Joe) Burrow, the top quarterbacks that will be on this list. He doesn’t have that trait to be able to create outside of structure that often. He’s rather gonna throw or run.”
Here’s where it gets interesting.
“And that’s a little bit on the low end of the spectrum, Justin Fields-ish, and that’s on the high end of the spectrum, Jalen Hurts.”
OK, they lost us at Fields. At this point, Fields hasn’t shown he has what it takes to be a functional NFL passer. Daniels is far ahead of Fields now. It’s not even comparable to where the two stood coming out of college.
Daniels was praised for his accuracy and ability to throw outside the numbers.
Another criticism here was that Daniels was propped by LSU’s first-round wide receivers. Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas are phenomenal, but were these same criticisms levied at Burrow when he came out of LSU having thrown to Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase — arguably the two best NFL receivers?
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Nothing matters until Daniels plays games and shows he can do it at the NFL level. The most curious aspect of this critique was that Daniels was either a thrower or scrambler. Doesn’t that describe every dual-threat quarterback who has ever lived, from Fran Tarkenton to Michael Vick to Lamar Jackson?
As far as saying Daniels sometimes passed up opportunities to call his own number at LSU, that was true. Why? Because he was playing to win, and he knew no one would catch him. That’s different from saying he is unable to create outside of structure.