Jayden Daniels

	A	B	C	D	E	F
1	Jayden Daniels	Quarterback	LSU	4-Star Recruit (97)	Redshirt Senior	Fifth Year Starter
2
3	Positional Rank	Grade	Height	Weight	2023 PFF Grade	2022 PFF Grade
4	5	Mid-Late 1st	6'4	210	94.7	87.8
5
6	Year	Attempts	Completions	Passing Yards	Passing Touchdowns	Interceptions
7	2023	332	236	3811	40	4
8	2022	390	266	2913	17	3
9
10	Year	Rushing Attempts	Rushing Yards	Rushing Touchdowns	Completion Percentage	Adjusted Completion %
11	2023	65	1250	10	71.08%	79.6
12	2022	80	1079	11	68.21%	77.2
13
14	Year	Passer Rating	Passing Yards / Attempt	Rushing Yards / Attempt	PFF Grade from Clean Pocket	PFF Grade Under Pressure
15	2023	143.7	11.48	19.23	94.0	82.2
16	2022	101.4	7.47	13.49	90.1	62.7
17
18	Year	Big Time Throw %	Turnover Worthy Play %	Pressure to Sack %	Time to Throw	Average Depth of Target
19	2023	8.4%	1.6%	20.2%	2.91	10.5
20	2022	2.9%	0.6%	30.80%	2.94	8.2
21
22	Overview
23	Strengths	Notes
24	Deep Ball from Clean Pocket	His accuracy, timing, and touch on deep throws is beyond impressive, consistently hitting tight windows when necessary downfield when throwing from a clean pocket.
25	Rushing Vision	Not only is he a superb open field runner, but his vision to get out in space is just as impressive.
26	Experience	With over 1800 dropbacks in five years of starting, he has a lot of experience and has shown drastic improvement over the course of his career. He recognizes pre-snap pressure, understands coverage types, takes great care of the football, and clearly has full command of his offense.
27
28	Weaknesses	Notes
29	Anticipation	He often throws to the player and not the space. He must improve his ability to throw guys open at the next level.
30	Intermediate Ball Placement	His pass always looks good, but it is often not in the chest of his receiver, even when the receiver is standing still. He has the tendency of slightly under throwing at times, and his tight window accuracy is unreliable. This could be partially from having a naturally weaker arm comparatively speaking.
31	Staring Down Receivers	He lingers on his first read for too long. He waits for his first man to get open before looking elsewhere, and often drops his eyes instead of going through progressions.
32
33	Film
34	Game	Major Takeaways				Grade and Game Notes
35	Alabama (11/04/2023)	Slender. Great hip depth. Good timing and accuracy. Lower body mechanics look adequate. Excellent deep ball placement on albeit an easy downfield pass. Strong pocket footwork. Great acceleration. Anticipation on downfield throws is in question. Some intermediate passes are to the player and not the space. Understands when to avoid hits when rushing. Arm talent on the move is not elite. Getting through progressions as a pocket passer more quickly than expected. Inconsistent accuracy at all levels of the field. Timing could slightly improve on first read routes. Great vision when scrambling and finding space to run. Still some minor accuracy issues. Overall very good decision- making. Great jump ball throw. Occasionally drops eyes when scrambling. Touch and accuracy on short distance throws is becoming worrisome. Great maneuverability in the pocket. Lower and upper body often work in unison regarding throwing mechanics. Great poise, but subpar arm talent for the NFL. Nussmeier appears to have better accuracy and timing than Daniels.				Leaning mid-first. Excellent dual threat ability, but anticipation, accuracy, and timing prevent him from being given a "franchise" grade.
36	Ole Miss (09/30/2023)	Great deep accuracy from a clean pocket. Quick timing is good, but inconsistent. Better timing on crossers than slants and hooks. Spiral often is not as tight. but still has good touch. Very well-placed deep ball. Fast with good acceleration. Great accuracy on intermediate and deep crossing routes. Excellent ball placement from clean pocket along the boundary. Occasionally irregular upper body mechanics. Keeping his eyes downfield when rolling out. Never seems to make more than two reads, and would prefer to run than make even that second read. Not much nuance to throw off a defense. Arm talent is mediocre at best. Has the easiest reads of all time. High ceiling in the right scheme, but there would be a steep learning curve in a west coast offense.				Mid-Late First round prospect in a quarterback friendly scheme. Does not seem to go through progressions efficiently or do much with his eyes to throw off a defense.
37	Arkansas (09/23/2023)	Very good evasion despite oddly flat feet in the pocket. Not perfect intermediate accuracy on open target. Often slightly under throwing. Staring down receivers. Missing open receivers when asked to read his progressions. The number of slight under throws this game is frustrating. Really staring down his receivers. Receivers need to be wide open for him to throw them the ball. Still under throwing. Absolute dime in the back of the end zone. High ceiling prospect, but his floor as a passer is very low. Does not often anticipate throws.				Mid-Late First still. Will struggle adjusting to what is considered 'open' in the NFL compared to what he had at LSU.
38	Florida (11/11/2023)	Staring down first read. Very comfortable open field runner. Good placement in zone. Throwing with more anticipation this game. Has such an easy offense with receivers often being wide open. Drops his eyes under pressure too often. Poor accuracy to boundary on open throw. Incredible deep ball placement. Seamless acceleration. Lacks velocity on short and intermediate passes. Very fast. Hit second progression in stride. Accuracy on quick timing throws is off. Incredible running vision. Deep ball placement consistently is impressive. Needs to get through progressions quicker and trust his receivers. The NFL will be substantially more difficult for him.				Mid-Late First project quarterback. Might need to sit a year to work on progressions, improve accuracy, learn to slide, and adapt to an NFL system.
39	Texas A&M (11/25/2023)	Decent downfield placement, but slightly underthrown and increased velocity would have improved the pass. Staring down quick read, not attempting to mask the look. Clear lack of arm strength. Boundary placement on quick throw to the flat was suboptimal. Decent timing on comeback. Still staring down his primary read without attempting to divert the safety. Only really throwing it to his first read. Ball placement at all levels is a concern. Low velocity on quick out. Lacking poise under pressure. Faded back on throw instead of stepping into it unnecessarily. Short pass accuracy is highly concerning. One read an run player this game. Cannot make difficult off-platform throws. Fade placement was exceptional. Staring down his first read waiting for him to separate. Malik Nabers is incredible.				Mid-Late First, but the offense must be built around his skill set.
40
41	Attributes		Grade / 100	Notes
42	Positional Skills	Anticipation	67	Daniels needs to see his receivers open before throwing the ball unless it is a deep fade route.
43		Decision-Making	88	He takes care of the football as well as anyone in the draft. His sack numbers are rather high and he attempts to run too early at times, but he reliably makes very safe decisions with the football.
44		Progressions	43	He has reps where he goes through multiple progressions, but he does so extremely slowly. He typically relies on his first read, and drops his eyes in the face or pressure or when scrambling.
45	Reading the Field	Scheme Identification	87	He has a good understanding of where defenders will be post-snap. His ability to find rushing lanes consistently is highly impressive, and understands where pressure is likely to come from.
46		Zone Recognition	83	He hits windows rather consistently on initial reads, but must learn where to scan his eyes against various coverages if his first read is not available.
47		Manipulation	10	He shows absolutely nothing when it comes to manipulate defenses with his eyes or body language. He stares down his first read as egregiously as any quarterback possibly could.
48	Operational	Instincts	88	He has good overall instincts, but pocket awareness must improve.
49		Poise	79	He will often not step into throws when he knows that he is about to take a hit. He will also fade back and short arm throws in the face of interior pressure often.
50		Command	92	He has full command over the offense, but could take more initiative when making pre-snap adjustments.
51		Pressure	85	Feeling and handling pressure are two different skill sets. Jayden handles pressure well, often either getting rid of the ball quickly or finding a running lane, but he does not always feel blindside pressure.
52	Movement	Pocket Presence	74	He must learn to feel unanticipated pressure more consistently.
53		Mobility	95	Excellent mobility, but a better open field rusher rthan pocket navigator.
54		Improvisation	89	His improvisation come entirely on the ground. If he is scrambling, he will drop his eyes almost instantly. That said, what he can do with his legs is special and cannot be discounted.
55		Pure Rushing Ability	96	Elite rusher. He has excellent vision as a runner, but lacks the frame to be able to withstand taking hits in the open field. He also needs to learn how to slide, and takes far too many big hits.
56	Throwing Mechanics	Lower Body	93	While he abandons his lower body more often under pressure, his fluidity from his base through his upper body is impressive. He has a compact throwing motion, and understands how to increase his effective arm strength with solid lower body fundamentals. He could generate more torque on intermediate throws, but his consistency with solid mechanics rightfully inflates this grade.
57		Upper Body	91	He short-arms a lot of passes and follows through without using his shoulders at times, but his upper body motion is graceful regardless. He is a smooth passer with a quick release that should translate well to the NFL.
58		Touch	93	Very good ouch at all levels of the field.
59	Accuracy	Short	92	Rarely misfires entirely, but ball placement could definitely improve.
60		Intermediate	81	Decent accuracy from a clean pocket, but significantly worsens when off-platform. His ball placement must improve both inside and outside the numbers.
61		Deep	96	His deep ball placement is stellar despite limited arm strength.
62	Potential	Arm Talent	76	Strength is a significant deficiency. He simply cannot make certain NFL throws out of structure that most starting caliber quarterbacks can.
63		Athleticism	95	Excellent athlete. He just lacks mass and strength.
64		Consistency	90	His rushing ability along with his sense of taking care of the football make him a consistent player.
65
66	Final Scouting Report
67	Jayden Daniels is a highly enticing and athletic quarterback who has improved steadily over the last three seasons. In his first year at LSU in 2022, he played as risk averse as possible with only three turnover worthy plays and twelve big time throws. In 2023, his turnover worthy plays jumped up to seven, which is still excellent, but his big time throws jumped to 29 on 58 fewer passing attempts. His 40 touchdowns through the air and 10 on the ground moved him from being in first round consideration to becoming a legitimate threat to be selected top five in the 2024 NFL Draft. His touch on the football is incredible, throwing an easy ball to catch at all levels of the field when on target. His deep ball placement is impeccable, always giving his receivers the chance to make a big play. The only part of his game that overshadows his prowess downfield is his uncanny rushing ability. His 2429 rushing yards over his two seasons at LSU set him apart from all other quarterbacks in this class. His vision and ability to find rushing lanes should translate well to the NFL if he is drafted into the right system. If he is not in a friendly system that is built around his strengths, then he may end up having a much worse career than what he has shown he can do in college. He often stares down his first read and does not even attempt to mask where he wants to throw the football. He also will wait for them to break into space instead of throwing them open. If the first read does not get open, he occasionally has a difficult time knowing where to look for his next receiver. His lack of consistent timing when going through progressions will naturally make it harder to know exactly where the next reads will be. In the face of pressure, he often drops his eyes and looks to run. When scrambling outside of the pocket, his progressions slow even further and he lacks the pure arm talent to make many big time throws on the run. In the pocket, he does not always feel blindside pressure. He understands pre-snap blitz looks, but will likely take more sacks than he would like if his offensive line is not stellar. Daniels has a good ceiling as well as a solid floor with his rushing ability, but his lack of anticipatory throws and speed through progressions may haunt him in the NFL. He will likely not go to a team with Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. level of receivers in comparison to their competition, and will have to learn how to play the middle of the field better from the pocket so that teams don't sell out against his legs. If he can gain some mass to help avoid injury on the run and increase his arm strength, and the coaching staff working with him is patient in his development as a paser, then Daniels could prove to be an excellent franchise quarterback worthy of a top 5 pick. As it stands, he is left with a mid-late first round grade due to his potential upside as a playmaker in the quarterback position balanced with the risk that he may never become an excellent passer without a stellar surrounding cast to help with his development.
68
69	Pro Comparison
70	Justin Fields. Fields has a much stronger arm and is more accurate on short and intermediate throws, but Daniels is much better at finding rushing lanes and is more decisive in the pocket.
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100