Jayden Daniels is coming off one of the most electrifying college football seasons ever for a quarterback. Yes, his 2023 Heisman Trophy season at LSU is one of the best statistical marvels of all time.
He totaled 3,812 passing yards, 40 passing touchdowns and just four interceptions while completing 72.2% of his passes. This result led Daniels to set the college football single-season passing efficiency record (208.0). Daniels was just as dynamic on the ground, totaling 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns on 135 carries, or 8.4 yards per carry. He led all college football quarterbacks in yards per pass attempt (11.7) and yards per carry (8.4) while becoming the only FBS player since the start of the 21st century to average more than 300 passing yards per game and 75 or more rushing yards per game. game in a season in 2023.
Just to put into context how incredibly dominant his 2023 production was, here’s how his Heisman season compares in its entirety to LSU’s other Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback, College Football Playoff national champion 2019 and first overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Joe Burrow. The two award-winning campaigns are strikingly similar.
LSU QBs will win the Heisman Trophy
Total yards/play |
402.6 |
412.2 |
Total touchdowns/game |
4.3 |
4.2 |
Passage of the efficiency rating |
202.0 |
208.0* |
Draft picks |
1st |
? |
*The best in FBS history
The 2023 Heisman Trophy winner will enter the NFL with 55 games of experience as a starter (29 at Arizona State, 26 at LSU), and he maximized that playing time to become the only player in football history college major with over 12,000 career assists. yards and over 3,000 career rushing yards.
Here are the top five picks for one of the top three quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft:
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 sixth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft to a four-year, $160 million extension last offseason.
Jones struggled in 2023, throwing two touchdowns against six interceptions in six starts before a torn ACL ended his season. His run in 2022, in which he had the lowest interception rate (1.1%) in the NFL, appears to be an aberration and not the new normal. However, New York would have to eat $69 million in dead money if it cuts Jones this offseason. This figure declines to a much more achievable figure of $22 million in 2025.
One thing the Giants have had trouble doing with Jones is throwing their passing game downfield. He never averaged 7 yards per pass attempt or more in his five NFL seasons. Daniels could immediately revive this element of his offense. He led college football in yards per pass attempt (11.7)
New York clearly needs a successor for Jones, and by the time he’s likely shown the door in 2025, Daniels will be ready to fly.
“It was fun,” Daniels said during the NFL Scouting Combine when asked about meeting the Giants. “Going there and being able to talk about football, they handed me the clicker and we were just talking about ball. It’s always fun. I love football. I’m very passionate about it. Every time I talk about ball, I love it… How energetic the coaching staff was and getting to know me as a person. They were very excited about it.
The Patriots offense that Daniels would be a part of if selected is murky at best. There’s a new offensive coordinator in Alex Van Pelt, as well as the team’s top three wide receivers (KJ Osborn, Kendrick Bourne and DeMario Douglas) who are currently shaping up to be a contender’s third-string receivers. They retained Hunter Henry, which is huge for their passing game in the red zone. The Patriots are also projected to have $38.1 million in effective cap space, according to OverTheCap, which would be the most in the entire NFL. They can be players in the June 1 free agency market, as well as hold some of that space until next offseason.
Daniels would be a stark contrast stylistically to the pocket passers used last season by Mac Jones – who ranked bottom three in the NFL in yards per pass attempt (6.1), TD-INT (10-12 ) and passer rating (77.0) – and Bailey Zappe – whose eight turnovers from Weeks 14-18 were tied for second in the NFL. Both played important roles in the Patriots’ anemic offensive attack.
Daniels led the nation in passing yards per attempt (11.7) while breaking the single-season passing efficiency record (208.0). He is exactly what New England needs moving forward.
“That would be great,” Daniels said during the NFL Scouting Combine when asked if he played for New England. “Obviously growing up and seeing what Tom Brady did there, six Super Bowls. It’s tough to go through. It would be awesome to come there and see the success they had and help them get get back on track.”
For more coverage of the project, you can hear in-depth analysis twice a week on “With the first choice” — our year-round NFL Draft podcast with NFL Draft analyst Ryan Wilson and former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman. You can find “With the First Pick” wherever you get your podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, etc. Listen below!
Whoever becomes the Raiders’ next full-time quarterback has the gift of being able to throw to three-time first-team All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams. Las Vegas unsuccessfully switched between Jimmy Garoppolo (who they freed), Brian Hoyer (whom they released) and 2023 fourth-round pick Aidan O’Connell. They will enter 2024 with O’Connell and Gardner Minshew.
For Daniels to end up in Las Vegas, new general manager Tom Telesco will likely have to trade with the Patriots to at least acquire him. Daniels is on a different planet than O’Connell from an arm talent standpoint. He could very well beat him or Minshew to become the team’s Week 1 starter if he’s picked.
New Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce was Arizona State’s recruiting coordinator and linebackers coach when Daniels was the Sun Devils’ starting quarterback from 2019 to 2021. That connection could lead to a increased effort by Las Vegas to do what it takes to select the Heisman Trophy winner.
“It was awesome,” Daniels said at the NFL Scouting Combine when asked about meeting the Raiders. “Obviously I already knew coach Antonio Pierce, but overall, meeting the whole staff, meeting everyone, it was great energy. Just being able to sit down and talk. … My time with AP… He is who he is. People see him now, but he was the same when I was in high school and weighed 150 pounds. He gave me an opportunity.
2. Minnesota Vikings (11th overall pick and 23rd overall pick)
Kirk Cousins is now an Atlanta Falcon and the Vikings are operating as a franchise desperate for a new quarterback. They sent two second-round picks (one in 2024 and one in 2025) and a 2024 sixth-round pick to the Houston Texans in exchange for the 23rd overall pick in this year’s draft. This gives them the capital to trade their first two this year and just their first next year to move right up into the top five to get Daniels.
Minnesota also has the best collection 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 T.J. Hockenson and 2023 first-round wide receiver Jordan. Addison. They would be No. 1 on this list if they didn’t need a massive trade to get Daniels.
The Commanders 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). They are fully equipped to rebuild and rebuild quickly. They still have the second-most effective cap space in the entire league ($35.9 million per OverTheCap) after being active in free agency, and Washington has five draft picks through the first three rounds of the draft. NFL 2024.
They already had solid playmakers on the roster in Pro Bowl receiver Terry McLaurin, 2022 first-round pick Jahan Dotson and 2022 third-round pick Brian Robinson Jr entering the offseason. Washington then added a touchdown machine in running back Austin Ekeler along with three-time Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz and Pro Bowl center Tyler Biadasz. New offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury was Kyler Murray’s head coach and playmaker with the Arizona Cardinals for years. So he knows how to design an offense around a quarterback with dual-threat abilities like Daniels.
Commanders can add more offensive firepower in the draft and prepare their roster for their new rookie quarterback.
“With them, it was how cool all the staff were,” Daniels said during the NFL Scouting Combine when asked about commanders. “Obviously Dan Quinn, Kliff Kingsbury and all those types of guys. Just being able to sit there and get to know people. You see them on TV and you see everyone coaching. Behind the scenes, for being able to just have a conversation, that’s just the coolest part for me.”