On3 Roundtable: Jayden Daniels must take more risks in 2023

It is normally good news if you’re a quarterback and don’t throw many interceptions. However, that wasn’t necessarily the case for LSU QB Jayden Daniels last year.

The Bengal Tiger’s Shea Dixon recently joined the On3 Roundtable and host JD PicKell to talk about Daniels and preview LSU’s upcoming season. According to Dixon, Daniels needs to take more chances in 2023.

Daniels passed for 2,913 yards, with 17 touchdowns and three interceptions last year.

“His interception numbers were nothing, basically. He only threw a couple all season,” Dixon said. “It sounds counter-intuitive, but Brian Kelly and Joe Sloan — the quarterbacks coach, Mike Denbrock – the offensive coordinator, they want him to be a little bit more of a gunslinger. … They want him pushing the ball down the field, throwing contested passes, because they believe in Malik Nabers, they believe in Brian Thomas and Kyren Lacy and these receivers that they’ve got.”

Daniels is undoubtedly an excellent runner and dangerous dual-threat quarterback. In addition to a solid season throwing the football, he also rushed for 885 yards and 11 touchdowns last year.

This offseason, the challenge for Daniels is to be willing to take more chances pushing the ball down the field.

“He’s a true dual-threat quarterback,” Dixon said. “People throw that term around loosely. Jayden Daniels is a true dual-threat quarterback. You want him to run. You also want more explosive plays in the passing game.”

If Daniels is willing to take more chances and more shots down the field, the Tigers could have a special season in 2023.

In Brian Kelly’s first season in 2022, LSU went 10-4, winning the SEC West and earning a spot in the SEC championship game.

“If they can couple Jayden Daniels’ running ability with what he’s able to do throwing the football – and that means pushing it down the field more – it can be a really complete offense, especially from a quarterback standpoint,” Dixon said.

“So all offseason, Jayden told us, ‘Hey, I’m working on pushing the ball downfield, taking shots, not being as worried about making that mistake throwing the football and costing us a game.’ If he can shake that, which I feel more than confident he can — he’s played a lot of football over his college career. I think this offense takes that next step. So when you’re looking at Jayden Daniels this year, I think you’ll see a guy that’s a bit more willing to take those risks.”