What year is LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, and how long has he been present on the college football stage? Here’s a brief look at the Tigers passer’s career to this point and where he stands in the 2024 NFL Draft class.
Is LSU Quarterback Jayden Daniels a Senior?
Daniels is a fifth-year senior in 2023. He first came into the fold as a high four-star recruit in the 2019 cycle. He was a top-50 recruit nationally on several boards and one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the entire class.
Daniels had scholarship offers from a number of blue-blood programs, including Ohio State, Alabama, and Penn State. But the San Bernadino, California product preferred to stay in the southwest region to begin his college football career.
Offers from Cal, UCLA, and Utah also piqued Daniels’ interest, but he ultimately signed with Arizona State.
Daniels’ career at Arizona State started hot. He threw for 17 touchdowns and just two interceptions in 2019 as a true freshman. He then retained the starting role through the team’s COVID-shortened 2020 campaign but regressed in 2021.
For a change of scenery, Daniels headed farther east to LSU in 2022, taking on the starting QB role for the Tigers. In that role, he saw a resurgence, throwing for almost 3,000 yards and 17 scores while also running for 885 yards and 11 touchdowns.
That brings us to 2023 — Daniels’ fifth year at the collegiate level and his second year as the starting quarterback of the LSU Tigers. This is Daniels’ final year of eligibility, as the COVID year allowed prospects an extra season.
Jayden Daniels’ 2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report
After the 2023 season, Daniels will look to the 2024 NFL Draft, where he’ll have a chance to be selected by NFL teams.
The 2024 NFL Draft’s QB crop is incredibly deep and talented, but as we’ve seen in recent years, teams will spend early-to-mid Day 3 capital on quality backups with high-end mobility to fall back on. Daniels could fit that description for NFL evaluators.
PFN Scouting Analyst Dalton Miller spoke glowingly of Daniels’ creation capacity and utility as a potential NFL backup in his scouting report at PFN. Miller said the following about Daniels’ ideal fit at the professional level:
“[Daniels’] experience and passing prowess make him an enticing Day 3 option for teams that want to take a swing on a high-ceiling backup that could help the team win a few games while the entrenched starter is injured. Teams with mobile QBs that implement a heavy dose of RPOs mixed with vertical passing concepts would be a perfect fit.”
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For a full breakdown of Daniels’ strengths and weaknesses, you can view Daniels’ full scouting report here at Pro Football Network.
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