Another top quarterback prospect has declared for the 2024 NFL Draft
The 2024 NFL Draft board is filling up. Monday started with one of the top names in this year’s class officially declaring for the draft.
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Daniels was a fastest riser up draft boards this season. After three up-and-down years as a starter at Arizona State, the four-star prospect transferred to LSU and showed promise.
Heading into the season he was projected as a Day 3 pick but took a massive step in his second season in Baton Rouge. In 12 games Daniels completed 72.2 percent of his pass attempts for 3,812 yards with 40 touchdowns and just for interceptions. On the ground he added another 1,134 yards and 10 more scores.
That performance earned Daniels a number of honors – most notably the 2023 Heisman Trophy. He’s also now expected to be a top-10 pick in this year’s draft.
As a passer, Daniels has a plus deep ball, good pocket presence, and can create out of structure when needed. He’s a true threat with his legs, although still looks to pass first. When he does take off on a scramble or designed run he can make defenders miss in the open field and has the top speed to pull away from defensive backs.
On top of all of that, Daniels’ exponential development points to a player who is a quick learner, can handle new concepts well, and understands how to improve himself. That should help with the learning curve that comes with all NFL quarterbacks.
The biggest knock on Daniels right now is his size. Listed at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, he’ll need to add mass to his frame to better handle contact at the pro level. His weigh-in at the NFL Combine this year will get plenty of attention, as will his physical testing to see if he can move the same after adding to his frame.
At the same time Daniels can also be reckless as a runner, and has a tendency to take big hits he doesn’t need to take, when he could slide or go out of bounds. Against bigger, faster, stronger NFL defenders he’ll need to do a better job of taking care of his body.
As Daniels declares for the NFL Draft he’s projected to be the third quarterback off the board behind Caleb Williams from USC (who has yet to officially declare for the draft) and Drake Maye from UNC (who declared last week). The question is, if he doesn’t catch Maye during the pre-draft process, will another team fly up the board to get him? Or will he have wait to hear his name until some of the top non-quarterbacks (ex. Notre Dame OT Joe Alt, Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr.) are off the board?
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