Brian Kelly explains how Jayden Daniels can get even better once he becomes an NFL quarterback
Jayden Daniels is a lock to be the next face of an NFL franchise. At this point, it's simply a matter of which franchise that turns out to be.Many are connecting the dots to the Washington Commanders at No. 2 and it makes a lot of sense. Hell, even Daniels' former coach, Brian Kelly, has […]
Jayden Daniels is a lock to be the next face of an NFL franchise. At this point, it's simply a matter of which franchise that turns out to be.
Many are connecting the dots to the Washington Commanders at No. 2 and it makes a lot of sense. Hell, even Daniels' former coach, Brian Kelly, has linked him to the Commanders two times over the past 14 days.
Still, nothing is guaranteed (outside the Chicago Bears taking Caleb Williams at No. 1) when it comes to the NFL, specifically the NFL Draft, for that matter.
All Daniels can do between now and the next couple of weeks is continue to perfect his craft and hone his game like he has over the last few years. In fact, according to Kelly himself, LSU had to give players unlimited access to the building because Daniels was there so often.
“His work in the offseason was unbelievable … we used to cut off how long players could stay in the building but had to change our protocols and give players unlimited access because Jayden basically lived here.” – Brian Kelly via The Athletic
Daniels is an electric playmaker. So much so that he's the first -and only- college player to throw for more than 12,000 passing yards and run for more than 3,000 rushing yards in NCAA history.
But, like any rookie, he has things to clean up. And Kelly specifically mentioned those items on the latest episode of the God Bless Football podcast.
"I think more than anything else, to continue maturation in the pocket," said Kelly. "He's made great progress there. I just think being in the pocket, for him, is one of those things where you don't want to see somebody, just all of a sudden [think], 'I've arrived.' Everybody can benefit from being more calm and collected in the pocket. He made great progress in Year 2 [and] I would [like to] continue to see that same kind of progress.
"He's up to 210 pounds and [he needs to] continue to build a coat of armor on him, because he's going to get hit. I think sliding would be a good thing – that would also benefit him. But I think he's in a really good position [and] I think he knows all those things."
A specific aspect of Daniels' pocket maturation that needs continued improvement is the fact he gets a bit to antsy when he starts to feel pressure. More often that not, Daniels will take off running before going through/finishing his reads/progressions, which can lead to missed plays, negative plays, or unnecessary hits absorbed by the Heisman Trophy winner.
He's not going to be able to outrun the majority of guys in the NFL like he did in college, so it'll be key for him to stay with his reads/progressions in order to maximize the play call. The good news, as mentioned above, is this is very coachable and Daniels will work like hell in order to correct the issue.
It's important to note the year-to-year jump with Daniels once he received consistent, quality coaching at LSU. He made tremendous strides and he should be able to continue to do so with the coaches at the NFL level. And if he can continue to improve, the Commanders, or whomever ends up with him, will have a top-notch signal-caller for the next decade-plus.
