It’s the offseason, which means it’s NFL Draft time. The discourse associated with the draft is ever evolving, and there may not be a greater example of that than the race to be the second quarterback chosen in the 2024 class, aka the second overall pick of the draft by the Washington Commanders.
Entering the 2023 collegiate season, it was assumed 2022 Heisman Trophy winner and USC quarterback Caleb Williams and North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye would be the first two picks of the 2024 NFL Draft. Then, fifth-year senior LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels erupted for the Tigers, giving Maye some competition to be the second quarterback selected. He racked up 3,812 yards passing, 40 passing touchdowns and just four interceptions with a completion percentage of 72.2%. That registered Daniels with college football’s highest single-season passing efficiency rating ever (208.0).
He was just as electrifying with his feet, running for 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns on 135 rushing attempts, churning out a rate of 8.4 yards per carry. Daniels led all college quarterbacks in both passing yards per attempt (11.7) and yards per carry (8.4). Thus, there was plenty excitement around his LSU pro day on Wednesday. Daniels, who is 6-foot-4, didn’t have height concerns, but there were concerns about his stature. He didn’t weigh in at the NFL Scouting Combine, but he weighed 210 pounds at the pro day workout. However, Sports Reference listed Daniels 2023 playing weight at 185 pounds.
In an attempt to squash doubts about his quarterback’s weight, LSU head coach Brian Kelly may have telegraphed that Daniels will be the 2024 NFL Draft’s second overall pick by the Commanders. Or, it may have been an honest mistake after spending plenty of time talking at the pro day with Washington head coach Dan Quinn, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and general manger Adam Peters.
“He [Daniels] is going to be so committed…
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