Mel Kiper Jr. breaks down Jayden Daniels' rise from fourth round to top 3 in 2024 NFL Draft

Jayden Daniels had quite the rise in draft stock from 2022 to 2023 at LSU. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. evaluated the meteoric rise where Daniels went from respectable starter to Heisman Trophy winner.

On his draft board, Kiper has Daniels as the No. 2 or 3 overall pick, meaning he could pass North Carolina’s Drake Maye in QBs taken in the draft. Caleb Williams (USC) is the de facto No. 1 right now, but Daniels’ rise cannot be understated.
Kiper explained what he saw on the most recent episode of ESPN’s First Draft.

“Jayden did it all,” Kiper said. “He had a lot of pressure on him coming in. You think about the defense that let that team down week in and week out. He knew okay, I’ve just put 28, 35, 40 points, it’s not enough. Now I gotta put a drive together late. Yes, he did have Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr.

“But when you look at the ability, he had to stress a defense and you saw him in the SEC running away from defensive backs. Just seeing the field. I think his vision is seeing the field to be able to throw with his eyes up on the move and being able to take hit after hit (was impressive).”

Kiper also noted Daniels’ physical growth. The size difference throughout his career was notable.

“He was about 205 maybe, he played at 180 and one point in his career,” Kiper said. “But he did add weight to the frame. We were talking about a fourth rounder last year now the second or third pick overall. I love the fact that he takes shots and he doesn’t throw interceptions. He runs, he’s aggressive, he doesn’t fumble the football.

“We needed to see certain things, we did. Jayden Daniels to me is right in line to be that second pick overall at worst a third pick and like I said, no player that I can remember, (especially) a quarterback, went from a fourth rounder to the second pick overall.”

This past season, Daniels finished with 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns, four interceptions and a 72.2% completion percentage. He added 1,134 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns.

As a member of the Class of 2019, Daniels was a four-star recruit out of San Bernardino (Calif.) Cajon, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 7 overall prospect in the state, the No. 3 quarterback in the class and the No. 50 overall prospect in the class.