Jaden Daniels is coming off one of the most exciting seasons in college football for a quarterback. That's right, his 2023 Heisman Trophy season at LSU is one of his all-time statistical wonders.
He totaled 3,812 passing yards, 40 passing touchdowns, and only four interceptions, completing 72.2 percent of his passes. With that accomplishment, Daniels set college football's single-season passing efficiency rating record (208.0). Daniels was just as dynamic on the ground, rushing for 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns on 135 carries, averaging 8.4 yards per carry. He leads all college football quarterbacks in both yards per pass attempt (11.7) and yards per carry (8.4), and since the turn of the 21st century he has averaged over 300 passing yards per game. He became the only FBS player to record more than 75 rushing yards per attempt. 2023 season games.
To put into context just how mind-bogglingly underwhelming his 2023 production was, we'll look at his Heisman season with LSU's other Heisman Trophy winners at quarterback, 2019 college football Here's how he compares overall to playoff national champion and 2020 NFL Draft No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow. His two award-winning campaigns are strikingly similar.
LSU QB wins Heisman Trophy
|
total yards/game |
402.6 |
412.2 |
|
Total touchdowns/game |
4.3 |
4.2 |
|
Passage efficiency evaluation |
202.0 |
208.0* |
|
draft picks |
First place |
? |
*Best in FBS history
The 2023 Heisman Trophy winner enters the NFL with 55 games of experience as a starter (29 at Arizona State, 26 at LSU) and is looking to make the most of that playing time to reach the majors. He is the only player in college football history to complete over 12,000 career passes. yards and over 3,000 career rushing yards.
Now that free agency is out of the way, here are five players who would be a great fit to be one of the top three quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft. All five of those teams participated in LSU's pro day on Wednesday.
Daniel Jones doesn't seem like the right choice to be the long-term quarterback for the New York Giants. The problem is that the G-Men signed the No. 6 overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft to a four-year, $160 million extension last offseason.
Jones struggled in 2023, throwing two touchdowns and six interceptions in six starts before a torn ACL ended his season. His performance in 2022, when he posted the NFL's lowest interception rate (1.1%), appears to be an anomaly, not the new normal. But if New York waives Jones this offseason, he would have to eat through $69 million in dead money. This number drops to his $22 million in 2025, which is even more achievable.
One of the things the Giants have struggled with with Jones is getting the downfield passing game going. He never averaged more than seven yards per pass attempt in his five seasons in the NFL. Daniels was able to bring that element of the offense back right away. He led college football in yards per pass attempt (11.7).
New York clearly needs someone to replace Jones, and perhaps by the time he's shown the door in 2025, Daniels will be ready to make the leap.
Daniels: “It was fun.” Speaking at the NFL Scouting Combine. when asked about the meeting with the Giants. “When I would go in there and be able to talk about football, they would hand me a clicker and we would just talk about the ball. It's always fun. I love football. I love football. “Anytime I can talk about ball, I love it.” “…how energetic the coaching staff was. They just went in and started getting to know me as a person. They were really excited about it.”
Whether Daniels will be part of the Patriots' offense if selected is uncertain at best. Alex Van Pelt is the new offensive coordinator, and the team's top three wide receivers (KJ Osborne, Kendrick Bourne and Demario Douglas) are now the most likely candidates to be the third receiver. They retained Hunter Henry, which is huge for the red zone passing game. According to OverTheCap, the Patriots' effective cap space is expected to be $38.1 million, which would be his most in the entire NFL. They can be on the free agent market for the June 1st cut, or they can carry some of that slot into next offseason.
Daniels will be a stark contrast stylistically to the pocket passer Mac Jones used last season — in yards per pass attempt (6.1), TD-INT (10-12), and passer rating (77.0). Ranked in the bottom three in the NFL — and Bailey Zappe — his eight turnovers from Weeks 14 to 18 were second-most in the NFL.Both played big roles in the Patriots' poor offense.
Daniels led the nation in passing yards per pass attempt (11.7) and broke the single-season passing efficiency rating record (208.0). He's exactly what New England needs moving forward.
“That's the worst” Daniels Speaking at the NFL Scouting Combine. When asked about playing in New England. “Obviously growing up and watching Tom Brady win six Super Bowls, it's tough to live up to that. To come in there and see their success and help them get back on track. It would be great if I could do that.”
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Whoever becomes the Raiders' next full-time quarterback has the talent to throw to three-time first-team All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams. Jimmy Garoppolo in Las Vegas (Who did they release?), Brian Hoyer (who they released), and 2023 fourth-round pick Aidan O'Connell. They will enter 2024 with O'Connell and Gardner Minshew.
For Daniels to ultimately remain in Las Vegas, new general manager Tom Telesco would have to at least trade him to the Patriots to acquire him. Daniels is on a different planet than O'Connell in terms of his arm talent. If he's selected, there's a good chance he beats him and Minshew to become the team's Week 1 starter.
New Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce previously served as Arizona State's recruiting coordinator and linebackers coach when Daniels was the Sun Devils' starting quarterback from 2019 to 2021. This connection could strengthen Las Vegas' efforts to do what it takes to select a Heisman Trophy winner.
“It was great,” Daniels said when asked about meeting with the Raiders at the NFL Scouting Combine. “Obviously going in there I already knew Coach Antonio Pierce, but overall I got to meet the whole staff, meet everyone and get a great energy. Just sitting there and playing ball. I was just able to talk about…my time at AP…”
2. Minnesota Vikings (11th overall pick, 23rd overall pick)
Kirk Cousins is currently with the Atlanta Falcons, and the Vikings are operating like a franchise in desperate need of a new quarterback. They sent two second-round picks (one in 2024 and one in 2025) and a sixth-round pick in 2024 to the Houston Texans in exchange for the No. 23 overall pick in this year's draft. This would give them the draft capital to trade the first two games of this year and the first two games of next year to move into the top five and acquire Daniels.
Minnesota has the best set of playmakers of any team on this list. 2022 Offensive Player of the Year wide receiver Justin Jefferson, Pro Bowl running back Aaron Jones, two-time Pro Bowl tight end TJ Hockenson, and 2023 first-round wide receiver This is receiver Jordan. Addison. If they don't have to make a huge trade to acquire Daniels, they'll be number one on this list.
The managers are entering a new era with a new owner (Josh Harris and his ownership group), a new head coach (Dan Quinn) and a new general manager (Adam Peters). Fully equipped for rapid rebuilding and rebuilding. They have the second-best available cap space league-wide ($35.9 million per OverTheCap), even after they hit free agency, and Washington has five draft picks in the first three rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft. have.
The roster is already solid with Pro Bowl wide receiver Terry McLaurin, 2022 first-round pick wideout Jahan Dotson, and 2022 third-round pick Brian Robinson Jr. entering the offseason. There were some great playmakers. Washington then added touchdown machines in running back Austin Ekeler, three-time Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz and Pro Bowl center Tyler Biadasz. New offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, who was Kyler Murray's longtime head coach and play-caller with the Arizona Cardinals, knows how to design an offense around a quarterback with two-way ability like Daniels. know.
Managers can add more offensive firepower with the draft and prepare a roster capable of acquiring a new rookie quarterback.
“The whole staff was really cool to be around them,” Daniels Speaking at the NFL Scouting Combine. When asked about the commander. “Obviously, Dan Quinn, Kliff Kingsbury and those types of players. Just being able to sit there and get to know people. You see them on TV, you guys coach them. Behind the scenes, being able to just have conversations, that's the coolest part for me.”
