With the NFL draft coming up this month, most people believe that Caleb Williams is the obvious number-one pick. However, after deep research on one of the other quarterback prospects, I’ve noticed the decision may not be so easy. It will be very difficult for Ryan Poles and the Bears to pass on this quarterback. This quarterback is LSU’s Jayden Daniels.
HIGH SCHOOL & ARIZONA STATE:
Jayden Daniels was born on December 18, 2000, in the small town of San Bernardino, California. He was a four-star recruit out of Cajon High School in San Bernardino. He started his college career for the Arizona State Sun Devils. Daniels showed some promise as a freshman by scoring 20 touchdowns and only throwing 2 interceptions in 12 games. Nevertheless, Daniels had an odd sophomore year. In the 2020 COVID-19 season, Jayden Daniels only played four games and wasn’t impressive. Going into his third year, Daniels knew he had to prove himself, he knew he had to swim or sink. Unfortunately, he sank. In 13 games in 2021, Daniels only completed 65 percent of his passes and threw as many interceptions as touchdowns. Daniels’ great production on the ground did allow him to lead Arizona State to an 8W-4L record before losing to Wisconsin in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Nonetheless, Jayden Daniels chose to transfer to LSU after the 2021 season. Daniels’s transfer to LSU was seen as a major statement. Daniels would have to compete for the starting job at LSU. If he didn’t win the job, his football career would be as good as over. This showed how badly he didn’t want to be at Arizona State anymore, and his former teammates took it personally. After his transfer was announced, a clip of his teammates raiding his locker went viral.
PROVING HIMSELF AT LSU:
The LSU Tigers were coming off a disappointing 6W-7L 2021 season. They brought Jayden Daniels in to either be their starting quarterback or put pressure on their previous quarterbacks, Max Johnson and Garrett Nussmeier, to up their games. However, when Daniels arrived, Johnson transferred to Texas A&M and Nussmeier somehow regressed. Meanwhile, Jayden Daniels put his head down and worked hard, eventually winning the starting job.
Daniels took over the struggling program and instantly turned it around. In 14 games in 2022, Daniels threw for 2913 yards and 17 touchdowns, while adding 885 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground, and even caught a 5-yard TD pass on a trick play. Daniels and the LSU offense capped off the season by putting up 63 points on Purdue in the Citrus Bowl. Daniels working hard and betting on himself was paying off, but this was only the beginning.
In 2023, Jayden Daniels and the LSU offense took over college football. In 13 games, Daniels threw for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns, while adding 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. While leading the Tigers to a 10W-3L record, Jayden Daniels put up 380.4 yards and 3.85 touchdowns per game. He easily won the 2023 Heisman Trophy.
All of these stats and awards are very impressive, but what caught my attention the most was the way the team rallied around Jayden Daniels. Multiple players around Daniels emerged as superstars. Brian Thomas Jr. and Malik Nabers were both 4-star recruit receivers. Both receivers were originally disappointing at LSU but changed when Daniels came to town. With Daniels's help, LSU’s number one and two pass catchers are both expected to be first-round picks in the upcoming NFL draft. In addition, Daniels turned players with lower expectations into stars as well. Logan Diggs was a 3-star recruit out of high school. After struggling for two years at Notre Dame, he transferred to LSU. Working with Jayden Daniels, he revamped his game. While Diggs did have a smaller role at LSU, he was a more productive player. From 2022 to 2023 his amount of touches regressed by 27.4 percent, and his total yards regressed by 28.8 percent. However, Diggs’ yards per carry improved by 0.7 and he put up 7 rushing touchdowns, after scoring 3 in 2021 and 4 in 2022. The list goes on and on. Anybody who came into contact with Jayden Daniels at LSU instantly improved. Not only is Daniels a great duel-threat quarterback, but he’s also an incredible leader.
SUCCESS AT THE NEXT LEVEL:
In my opinion, out of all the talented quarterback prospects in this year’s class, Jayden Daniels will have the most successful transfer to the NFL level. Over the past decade, almost half of the quarterbacks drafted in the first round were draft busts. This is such a common phenomenon because these young quarterbacks face several challenges that they’ve never faced before. It’s almost impossible to tell how these young kids will handle the challenges, and therefore, drafting a quarterback is a shot in the dark. However, I believe that Jayden Daniels has already faced and overcame these challenges. The 5 most daunting challenges are as follows: 1) Facing adversity. 2) Facing scrutiny. 3) Learning a more complicated system. 4) Adjusting to faster play. 5) Learning to be a leader. Jayden Daniels has “been there, done that.”
Facing adversity: Daniels came to Arizona State as the big-shot 4-star recruit quarterback. He was the second-ranked dual-threat quarterback in the nation and was supposed to be the guy for the Sun Devils. However, things didn’t go as planned. Daniels only completed 62.4 percent of his passes, had a 32-13 TD-INt ratio, and was eventually driven out of town. At this point, most 20-year-old kids would’ve broken and quit. Yet, Jayden Daniels smiled in the face of adversity, bet on himself, and worked harder than ever. Even if things are hard at first in the NFL, Daniels will not break. That’s the type of man I’d want leading my team.
Facing scrutiny: Following the 2021 season, Jayden Daniels knew that Arizona State wasn’t the right fit for him and transferred to LSU. His teammates accused him of betraying him and the media called him crazy for risking his starting job. Nevertheless, Daniels knew that he only needed one person to believe in him, himself. Sure enough, three years later, Jayden Daniels has exceeded all expectations, he’s a Heisman winner and a top draft pick. Even if the media criticizes him, or if his team doesn’t believe in him, Daniels will not fold. That’s the type of man I’d want leading my team.
Learning a more complicated system: Not only has Jayden Daniels learned multiple systems, but he’s also had to make jumps on multiple occasions. After high school, Daniels learned a PAC-12-level playbook. Three years later he transferred to the SEC, a much more advanced conference. Jayden Daniels had no trouble learning the more advanced system and in fact, he looked even better in it. I do not doubt that Jayden Daniels's transition from the SEC to the NFL will be just as smooth.
Adjusting to faster play: Just like the third challenge, Jayden Daniels already saw this challenge when he transferred. The game speed is much faster in the SEC than in the PAC-12 and Daniels excelled with it. I do not doubt that Jayden Daniels's transition from the SEC to the NFL will be just as smooth.
Learning to be a leader: Not every quarterback faces this challenge, some are already leaders in college. Jayden Daniels most definitely is already a leader. As I already stated, anybody who came into contact with Jayden Daniels at LSU instantly improved. Daniels’ approach and work ethic rubbed off on the people around him and made stars. A great quarterback makes the people around him better, and Jayden Daniels has already shown that this is the case. That’s the type of man I’d want leading my team.
In conclusion, Jayden Daniels has been through the wringer. However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it’s a great advantage and proves what can’t be proven regarding other quarterback prospects. So, Ryan Poles and the Chicago Bears, you’re on the clock, are you going with Jayden Daniels, or with the guy that fights about nail polish on social media?
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