The New England Patriots are among the teams that could seriously consider taking a quarterback with a top-five pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
While most of the recent mock drafts predict the Patriots will target USC's Caleb Williams or UNC's Drake Maye if they get a top-two or top-three pick, there's another intriguing name that might be worth a look: Jayden Daniels.
The LSU quarterback just won the Heisman Trophy after completing 72.2 percent of his passes for 3,812 yards with 40 touchdowns and four interceptions, while also picking up 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground.
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Daniels' draft stock might rise more than any other player between now and the draft in late April. One of Daniels' biggest supporters is ESPN College Gameday analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who also thinks that the LSU star would be a good fit on the Patriots roster.
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“I think Jayden Daniels is going to be the steal of the draft,” Herbstreit said Friday during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. "… All of you guys are going to have your NFL gurus on for the draft. And they’re all going to fall in love with Drake Maye, and they’re all going to fall in love with Caleb Williams. And I’m just telling you, before the personal workouts and combine workouts, the guy to look out for is Jayden Daniels.
"With the way the NFL game is trending, the style that it is with the quarterback, the ability to create and improvise and throw the ball on the run and just be that guy, it’s Jayden Daniels. If you don’t have the first or second pick — I don’t know where he’ll go when he’s done with his workouts — but if you put him in (Gillette Stadium) with Bill Belichick and that defense and you get a weapon or two to go with those tight ends, there’s a lot to like.”
Daniels has the skill set seen in a lot of modern QBs. He's an excellent passer and can also escape the pocket and make big plays with his legs.
Emory Hunt of the Football Gameplan joined our Patriots insider Phil Perry on the Next Pats Podcast last month to discuss Daniels' talent and NFL player comps.
🔊 Next Pats: Why Jayden Daniels should be the third QB taken in the 2024 NFL Draft | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
"He's athletically built like Josh Dobbs, but his playstyle is more like Jalen Hurts," Hunt said. "You can watch an LSU game and you wouldn't know if they're up 30 or down 30. Jayden Daniels has the same demeanor the whole game, so you don't know what's going on in the game, but you need someone that's even-keel like that. And it may not look pretty for the full 60 minutes, but when you need it to be effective, it happens, When you need him locked down inside the red zone, he does it. When you need him to make a play with his legs, he not only makes that play, he has that potential to really take it to the house.
"And I said this in a tweet back in October, and people thought I was crazy then, comparing his ability to run with the ball just like Lamar Jackson. He has tremendous body control, and I'm not saying he's as explosive as Lamar, but he's definitely fast. But when you watch him run with the ball, he's so under control. He's so smooth, so silky. You go and look at the Florida game, the run he had, not the long 80-yard touchdown run, but the next one, the one he had to weave his way through the defenders and then get to the end zone, didn't get touched.
"And so when you have that element in your back pocket as a quarterback, you're never in a bad play. You're never in a bad situation. Your ability to buy time and create puts a lot of strain on a front seven, but also puts strain on a back four because now they have to really plaster and cover for four to five seconds a little bit longer than they expect to. And you have the arm to get it anywhere you want on the field. So he provides the ultimate challenge to the defense."
The Patriots currently own the No. 2 pick in the draft, although that could change depending on how the final four weeks of the regular season play out. However, it would be shocking if the Patriots didn't have a top-five selection, so if they really like Daniels, they should be able to get him.
But the QB class in the 2024 draft is pretty deep. In addition to Williams, Maye and Daniels, players such as Bo Nix, Michael Penix Jr., Quinn Ewers and J.J. McCarthy are also exciting prospects. It'll be fascinating to watch which of these players' draft stock improves the most in the coming months. There's usually one or two surprises each year.