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Vikings Meeting With Ex-LSU QB, Top 2024 NFL Draft Prospect Jayden Daniels
The Vikings are set to meet with Heisman-winning QB Jayden Daniels soon.
The Vikings are one of six teams who are set to meet with former LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels in the near future, according to his agent. The 2023 Heisman Trophy winner is one of the top four quarterbacks in this year's draft class and has been projected as a top-three pick for months.
Daniels threw in front of NFL executives, coaches, and scouts at LSU's pro day on Wednesday. Among those in attendance was Vikings quarterbacks coach Josh McCown, who also made recent stops at pro days for Michigan (to watch J.J. McCarthy) and USC (Caleb Williams). McCown is presumably headed to Chapel Hill, NC, next; Drake Maye — who McCown coached in high school — will be throwing at UNC's pro day on Thursday.
The Vikings reportedly plan to put all of the top quarterback prospects in this year's draft through private workouts. In that setting, head coach Kevin O'Connell can teach the prospects elements of Minnesota's offense and then immediately see how well they retain and translate that information during on-field drills.
Daniels is coming off of an incredible season in which he threw for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns with just four interceptions, while also adding 1,134 yards and ten touchdowns as a runner. The 6'3", 210-pound QB is an elite scrambler who throws a beautiful deep ball. In a best-case scenario, he has the physical upside to be a Lamar Jackson-esque dual threat who can create magic outside of the pocket while still executing efficiently from within structure. The concerns with Daniels are his age (23), his tendency to take big hits in the open field, and his occasional inconsistencies as a short and intermediate passer.
The Vikings hold picks No. 11 and 23 in this year's draft after executing a trade with the Texans a couple weeks ago. They're primed to move up into the top five for one of the top four quarterbacks in this class: Williams (who is the heavy favorite to be taken No. 1 overall by the Bears), Maye, Daniels, and McCarthy. For months, the consensus has been that Williams, Daniels, and Maye would be the top three picks in this draft, but there's been some recent buzz that McCarthy could go even earlier than expected.
It's going to be very interesting to see how the QB dominos fall in this draft, which is now less than a month away.
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