Getty LSU QB Jayden Daniels.
The Las Vegas Raiders currently hold the No. 6 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, which will put them in the running to draft a quarterback. With USC’s Caleb Williams and UNC’s Drake Maye likely the first two quarterbacks off the board, the Raiders will need to look at the second wave of quarterback prospects.
LSU’s Jayden Daniels has a chance to be the third quarterback taken off the board and it appears he wouldn’t mind being selected by the Raiders. During an interview on the December 12 episode of “Pardon My Take,” Daniels was given a list of cities and asked which one was his favorite. Out of the cities listed, he picked Las Vegas.
This comes not long after he shouted out Raiders interim head coach Antonio Pierce during his speech after winning the Heisman Trophy. Daniels wasn’t asked to elaborate but notably, the “Pardon My Take” hosts listed cities for teams that need quarterbacks heading into next season.
Daniels doesn’t have much of a say on where he’ll get drafted but his stock has been rising. The Raiders are likely going to be in search of their next franchise quarterback next year and Daniels is officially a player to watch.
Jayden Daniels Draft Stock Rising
Prior to the 2023 season, Jayden Daniels wasn’t a quarterback who was getting a ton of NFL hype. With most of the world focusing on Caleb Williams and Drake Maye, Daniels slid under the radar.
However, he might be the biggest riser of the 2023 season. He scored 50 total touchdowns for LSU en route to winning a Heisman Trophy. His ability as a runner and a passer makes him very interesting for teams. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. believes that Daniels has played his way into being a first-round pick.
“I don’t have an elite, top-five grade on Daniels — Caleb Williams (USC) and Drake Maye (North Carolina) are higher on my board — but he’s trending toward being a first-round pick, especially in a draft in which multiple teams have quarterback issues,” Kiper wrote in a December 9 column. “I have a Round 1 grade on him. I could see Las Vegas (projected by ESPN’s Football Power Index to have the No. 9 pick), Tampa Bay (No. 10), Atlanta (No. 13) and Minnesota (No. 21) all doing intensive work on this QB class with an eye toward a Round 1 passer.”
It’s starting to look like Daniels might not even make it as far in the first round as Kiper is projecting but there’s still a lot of time before the April draft.
Is Jayden Daniels Right for Las Vegas Raiders?
Jayden Daniels’ ability as a runner and a passer makes him a much more modern quarterback. The Raiders had a Derek Carr for nine seasons and replaced him with Jimmy Garoppolo. Both guys are more old-school pocket passers. The NFL is moving away from those types of quarterbacks and is favoring passers who can make players outside of the pocket.
Daniels would allow the Raiders to modernize their quarterback position and finally have an exciting player to build around. There is some risk with Daniels. He’s not an elite passer yet and he was the beneficiary of an LSU offense with a lot of talent. However, it’s past time the Raiders took a risk at quarterback as they haven’t used a first-round pick to address the position since 2007.