Saints Have Formal Meeting With LSU QB Jayden Daniels At Scouting Combine
INDIANAPOLIS -- The NFL Scouting Combine is a great time for all. It's jam-packed with every team represented from scouts to coaches to front office staff. Needless to say, it's a great week to learn more about the Saints and the draft hopefuls out here. One thing we did learn about recently is that New Orleans met with LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels on Tuesday night, a source confirmed to Saints News Network.
From everything I was told about the meeting, Daniels handled himself extremely well. Jeff Ireland was among those to conduct an interview. Now, a lot of these meetings are common practice. Some of the draftees teams have can be traced well before this point, and it's not the first time Daniels has met with the Saints.
Meetings can certainly be used to gain insight about a player, and as Jeff Ireland told us at the Senior Bowl, you 'never say never' when talking about sticking to the same evaluation process, but pointed out that him being in the league for nearly 30 years that you're constantly evolving to what the college game is giving you and how the NFL game is being played. Ireland also mentioned his 'Parcellian' view that he learned that he won't go too far from like makeup and intelligence. The size and skillsets changing ensures the team gets the best athletes on the field.
It's important to remember that just because a prospect meets with a certain team doesn't mean that they're going to draft them. Sometimes, that's not ever the case. For instance, A.T. Perry said he never met with the Saints last year but ultimately got drafted by them. You can also look at the Top-30 visits the team had last year and put a little more stock into them, as New Orleans had Jordan Howden and Kendre Miller in, who they eventually drafted.
There might be a better fit out there for Jayden Daniels, especially with teams like the Raiders and Vikings (depending on what happens with Kirk Cousins), but mainly due to the fact that the team is committed to Derek Carr long-term. He's about to cash in on a $10 million roster bonus for 2025 that becomes fully guaranteed in the coming week as part of his contract. Honestly, there are bigger needs elsewhere. However, like Ireland said at the Senior Bowl, never say never.
