Is Jayden Daniels a Good Fit for Giants at Quarterback?
Not too long ago, I wrote about whether or not the New York Giants should target Caleb Williams or Drake Maye in the NFL Draft since the Giants, at the time, were slated to pick in the top three. Fast forward to today, and the Giants now hold the sixth pick in the draft, and the conversation for the top two quarterbacks has changed to the top three options with LSU’s Jayden Daniels rising on draft boards.
Daniels had a 2023 season full of explosive plays with his arm or legs en route to winning this season’s Heisman Trophy. The 2023 LSU offense was unique regarding personnel surrounding Daniels. He had two elite wide receivers in Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr, an inconsistent rushing attack (outside of Daniels himself), and an offensive line with more holes than Swiss cheese.
After his first three seasons at Arizona State, Daniels transferred to LSU with 6,724 passing yards, 57 touchdowns, seven interceptions, 2,329 rushing yards, and 21 rushing touchdowns in two years. Part of that incredible climb was due to LSU’s scheme putting him in position to succeed, but Daniels himself made strides that are rare to see at the college level.
As a deep passer, Daniels especially found his rhythm and improved, most notably as a touch passer over the top of coverage. He’s shown enough on tape to entice NFL teams into seriously considering him in the top ten, even the top five.
For all that Daniels does exceptionally well, he still has his flaws that, with four-plus seasons on tape, accounting for a weird 2020 season. There are still some flaws that are legitimate cause for concern.
Daniels has a very skinny frame and is listed as two inches taller than Lamar Jackson but also at the same weight. That’s not generally an issue I would concern myself with like I didn’t with Kyler Murray or Jackson himself, but Daniels makes it a point not to avoid contact and, in fact, welcomes it. Many times this season, Daniels took bone-crushing hits that looked vicious, and while he stayed healthy this year, that shouldn’t be the expectation if he chooses to continue taking those hits at the next level.
That’s an issue that can be fixed and coached out of him. Jackson is a perfect example of a quarterback who took hits in college (though not nearly to the extent Daniels does) and started to slide or get out of bounds to avoid that contact. It comes with the territory of being a potential franchise quarterback and realizing that the best ability is availability.
Accuracy has been inconsistent for Daniels, but it is another issue that I think can be addressed with improvements to his mechanics. Quarterbacks tend to see a bit of a jump there during draft prep and in their first couple of seasons in the NFL, so the Giants will just have to ask if they believe Daniels will work to improve.
There is one area of Daniels’ game that genuinely concerns me because it can’t be addressed much: velocity. Daniels has about average velocity, which makes me hesitate about whether he can be a franchise quarterback.
If your answer is no, he’s simply not worth the investment of major draft capital, which was my stance on Daniel Jones when he was coming out of Duke. Daniels's velocity is better than Jones's, and he’s more willing and able to use his legs as a weapon, so I value him more than I did with Jones.
With all this said, I think Daniels has to be in the conversation for the Giants if they stay at six overall. If the Giants trade up, I think it has to be for either Maye or Williams.
The risk is higher with Daniels, but he’s put enough on film to make NFL teams genuinely feel like he can be their franchise quarterback and will be worth the capital.
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