Mel Kiper Jr. calls Jayden Daniels a guaranteed top-five pick

LSU QB Jayden Daniels has seen his draft stock skyrocket after a super senior season where he won The Heisman Trophy. Pair that with the success of similar quarterbacks in the pros and Mel Kiper Jr. expects him to hear his name very early in April in Detroit.

Kiper Jr. assessed Daniels’ draft position during an episode of ‘First Draft’ with Field Yates last week. Beyond his own success in Baton Rouge this fall, he believes that the return on investment of similar quarterbacks, like Lamar Jackson in Baltimore, will convince some team to take him early on.

“I think how far do you want to move up Jayden? I think your comps are always something that we factor in a little bit,” Kiper Jr. said. “You mention Lamar Jackson – the 32nd pick, passed over by Arizona for Josh Rosen. Think about that? Josh Rosen went way, way ahead of Lamar Jackson.”

“You think about what Russell Wilson meant to Kyler Murray and Bryce Young? Showing you the 5’10 quarterback and having a successful, Super Bowl-winning career? All this opens up opportunities for guys coming in future years,” said Kiper Jr. “Certainly, Jayden can thank Lamar – no question about that.”

Daniels exploded in 2023 for career-best numbers across the board for LSU. He completed 72.2% of his throws for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns, and only four interceptions with his arm. Then, with his legs, he tallied 1,134 additional yards along with 10 more scores.

That production from Daniels was the engine behind the No. 1 offense in the nation for the Tigers. It also was more than enough for him to win the most prestigious award in all of college football.

In a quarterback-heavier year in the 2024 NFL Draft, it is still unclear where Daniels falls in the pecking order, especially for the franchises in the National Football League who are in desperate need of a young new signal-caller. In Kiper Jr.’s opinion, though, there’s almost no way that, come April 25th, Daniels sees his name fall outside the top-five.

“You think about where we are now? Jayden Daniels, because of Lamar Jackson, is now a top-five pick – guaranteed.”

Kiper Jr. details how Daniels is challenging Drake Maye in draft

Most insiders still consider North Carolina’s Drake Maye as the No. 2 quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft. LSU’s Jayden Daniels apparently isn’t far behind, though.

Mel Kiper Jr. recently weighed in on the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner’s rise in draft stock.

“Drake Maye turned out to be a guy that now is trying to hold off Jayden Daniels,” Kiper Jr. said. “I have not yet finalized Jayden or Drake. That’s going to be something I’m thinking about all the way into April.”

“I had Jayden up at four when people hadn’t even had him in the top-five. I’ve had him there since late September, early October. I had him up in the Top-10 and I’m getting, ‘Oh my gosh, what are you doing?’”

Kiper doesn’t see the comparison between the two players slowing down anytime soon.

“I tried to be ahead of the curve on (Daniels). But then, all of a sudden, I see it and now I got Drake Maye still ahead of him by one spot,” said Kiper Jr. “In terms of that, that’s going to be fun to see how that plays out.”