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Welcome to Coach Knows Ball, an NFL Draft series analyzing the top prospects in the 2024 class. I'm a college football coach with nine years of NCAA experience and have been scouting NFL Draft prospects for over 15 years. This series will give a deep dive into the film of some of the top players in this draft class, with detailed insight into future NFL standouts' strengths, weaknesses, and projections.
Scouting NFL draft prospects is about projecting translatable traits. There is often overlap between translatable traits and college performance, but there's a reason many top college players are not considered legitimate professionals. For example, a wide receiver being able to get in and out of breaks efficiently will not change from college to pro. Conversely, an edge-rusher who got most of his sacks due to hustle or missed offensive line assignments may not have shown translatable traits on film.
The film clips in this series show each pro prospect's positive and negative traits. Reading this article will give you a more in-depth look into each player with actual in-game visual evidence. We will continue our Coach Knows Ball series with LSU QB Jayden Daniels.
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Jayden Daniels is a 23-year-old quarterback prospect with dual-threat capability. He started his collegiate career at Arizona State in 2018 and finished it at LSU, winning the Heisman Trophy as a graduate student in 2023. Daniels is an extremely interesting evaluation, given that he probably wouldn't even be in the first-round conversation if he didn't end up at LSU throwing to two first-round wide receivers. Let's dive into his game.
Development and Improvement
Daniels struggled at times at Arizona State. In 2021, he had a 10:10 TD:INT ratio under Herm Edwards and was also involved in a recruiting violation. This past season, however, Daniels was the best player in college football and routinely shredded SEC defenses. Scouting pro prospects aren't about evaluating college performance but projecting translatable traits. There's plenty to like on film.
In the clip below, Daniels throws what I would guess is his favorite route -- the slot fade. His quick-game footwork is sound, his base is balanced, and his release is quick enough. The result is a perfectly thrown touch pass just inside the front pylon.
If the slot fade is Daniels' favorite route, the dig is his second favorite. In the clip below, he stands tall in the pocket to work all the way to the backside dig. You can see him flip his eyes from the field concept to the backside. This is high-level processing in a college offense.
The clip below shows another progression to a backside dig. Daniels probably can layer a throw to his crosser, but it's great to see how comfortable he is scanning the entire field.
The clip below shows Daniels reading the front of a flood concept against quarters coverage. When the corner bails with the No. 1 receiver, the sail separates from the safety for maximum separation (that's Malik Nabers; I can't wait to write that article!). Daniels is on time and in rhythm here, with calm footwork to deliver an accurate ball to the field. You can see his hips rotate like a baseball batter.
At his best, Daniels shows high-level decision-making and poise. In the clip below, the Ole Miss defense confuses LSU's O-line, as the looping defensive end gets inside pressure on Daniels. Unfazed, Daniels delivers a strike on the switch release bender route. His firm base and quick, calm feet allow him to fire a strike with a free runner in his face.
It's tough to project decision-making and processing to the pro level. The NFL has faster bullets, different hash dimensions, and different plays. Judging a QB's internal clock and projecting that trait to the pros is hard but not impossible. In the clip below, Daniels does a great job recognizing the blitz-peel by the field nickel. When the RB is removed, Daniels quickly peeps his mesh runner and beats the pressure. This should be a win for the defense, but Daniels' internal clock makes him right.
In the clip below, Mississippi State brings seven rushers, playing cover zero in the backend. The play call isn't great, as LSU's boundary receiver is running a long-developing swirl route against off-man. Daniels makes a split-second decision to forego the boundary and fire a ball into his No. 3 receiver on the short route. He makes standing tall versus pressure look easy.
Daniels' poise against pressure and ability to deal with the rush mentally are two of his best positive attributes. You don't complete 72.2% of your passes in the SEC with 40 touchdowns to just four interceptions without having a special command of your offense -- regardless of the talent around him. I suspect he'll ace his whiteboard interviews, and offensive coaches will love him.
Gazelle with a Gun
While Daniels can process and deal with pressure in structure, his speed and athleticism as a runner is a huge bonus. Daniels rushed for over 2,000 yards and 21 touchdowns in his two years as LSU's starter, outrunning SEC athletes like a gazelle along the sideline. A defensive coordinator's worst nightmare is a running threat who can also win from the pocket. Daniels has that potential.
We've seen Daniels stay in the pocket, make reads, and hit his targets. The clip below shows what he's capable of when everything's covered. Daniels finds an escape hatch and breaks a defender's ankles on his way to the end zone. His play speed is elite for a QB prospect with Shades of Robert Griffith III.
Daniels also had an 85-yard touchdown run in the above Florida game. His speed will translate to the pro game.
In the clip below, Daniels shows his mobility in scrambling to throw. LSU's right tackle is beat with speed, so Daniels shows off his flexibility and athleticism to escape through and get outside. From there, he delivers an absolute dime on the run. Notice how the nose of the ball dives down into the receiver's hands; it's special stuff. One of the best aspects of Daniels' game is that he isn't too quick to run. He goes through his progressions just as he's coached to and typically chooses only to run when it makes sense.
Daniels is the complete package in terms of throwing and running ability. The critical question about his transition to the next level is how his body will hold up taking hits.
Frame Questions
Jayden Daniels is listed on the LSU website as 6-foot-4, 210 pounds. Regardless of his actual weight (he may put on water weight at the combine -- he probably won't play at whatever he weighs in), Daniels has a slender frame and takes too many huge hits. His height makes him a huge target.
In the clip below, Daniels not only takes a huge hit that would put him at risk for injury, but his play strength is exposed as he also loses a fumble.
This X thread shows a handful of clips of Daniels taking huge hits. It's unlikely he'd stay healthy if he continues to take powerful hits with his slender frame at the NFL level.
Daniels' speed and rushing ability are a double-edged sword. It would be great to design runs for him in the NFL, but it's tough to subject your franchise QB to NFL tacklers all that often. Guys like Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts have much sturdier frames. Daniels and his coaches must be extremely smart about when and how he runs with the ball. And that's far easier said than done when the bullets start flying and wins and losses are at stake.
Besides his slender frame, the only question mark in Daniels' film is a tendency to miss when he locks his lower half. LSU used hitches as their primary RPO and quick-game route, so Daniels didn't achieve a 72.2 completion percentage throwing bubble screens. However, he did have some concerning misfires and didn't look great against a tough Florida State defense in Week 1 when he went 22-of-37 with an interception. That was the first game I watched, and he simply didn't play like a first-round pick.
In the clip below, Daniels has an open receiver but misses outside. On some of his worst lowlights, his passes lack velocity on the backend.
The clip below is an egregious miss. Daniels has a wide-open shallow cross and locks his front leg, missing wide again. When his feet are right, he's less likely to miss. He doesn't have the pure arm talent of other QBs in this class, so unconventional body positions and arm angles aren't his strength.
Daniels has shown the ability to produce in the SEC, but he did not have huge games against Florida State or Alabama, two of the better defenses on his schedule. Add in the fact that he was the oldest player on the field and threw to two first-round wideouts, and it's fair to wonder how his own talent will translate to the next level. His maturity is a plus, but he may not have the room for growth that younger prospects have.
NFL Outlook
Jayden Daniels had a remarkable season in 2023 and showed intriguing translatable traits on film while winning the Heisman. His ability to deal with pressure, make timely decisions and reads, and place slot fades and digs are all traits that will translate to the NFL.
The most significant question mark is how his slender frame will hold and if his running can translate in a significant way from a ball security and durability standpoint. Daniels has many outcomes, but his maturity makes him an unlikely outright bust. I'd be comfortable drafting him in the middle of the first round and think his situation will enormously impact his transition.
If you want to read and watch some of my past film breakdowns, click the links below.
- Caleb Williams - QB, USC
- Drake Maye - QB, North Carolina
- C.J. Stroud - QB, Ohio State
- Anthony Richardson - QB, Florida
- Bijan Robinson - RB, Texas
- Jahmyr Gibbs - RB, Alabama
- Breece Hall - RB, Iowa State (2022)
- Garrett Wilson - WR, Ohio State (2022)
- Ja'Marr Chase - WR, LSU (2021)
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more draft content in the coming days.
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