LSU Football: Jayden Daniels, Tigers Surging up NFL Mock Draft Boards

Daniels enters Top 3 territory, Malik Nabers knocking on the door of Top 5 status.

The Jayden Daniels-Malik Nabers connection took America by storm during the 2023 season with the pair of LSU Tigers rewriting the record books.

For Daniels, he was named the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner after tallying nearly 5,000 total yards and 50 touchdowns this year, but he didn't do it alone.

The Davey O'Brien Award winner was accompanied by star wide receiver Malik Nabers, his top weapon over the last two years.

Now, Nabers has inserted his name as a projected Top 10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

The Athletic's Dan Brugler and others have begun releasing their revised Mock Drafts with Daniels and Nabers projected as Top 10 selections.

Here's where Brugler has the pair of Tigers listed, a look into ESPN's Mock Draft and more:

Jayden Daniels' Stock Rising:

- The Athletic: No. 7 Overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

- ESPN: No. 3 Overall to the New England Patriots

Daniels entered the year with several question marks, and after lighting up the SEC each week, seemingly every question has been answered.

As LSU navigated its way through the 2023 season, Daniels sat around the second round in most mock drafts, but his status has certainly changed over the last two months. 

Brugler had Daniels going No. 7 overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in his Mock Draft 1.0 with ESPN putting him at No. 3 overall.

“Plenty will change between now and April, but this is still an interesting exercise at this point in the draft calendar,” Brugler wrote. “The picks don’t reflect my personal rankings or what I would do, but rather this projection strictly goes by what I think teams would do if the draft was tomorrow.

“This mock reflects the updated draft order and does not include any trades. (I also included the first picks on Day 2 for teams that currently don’t have a first-round selection.)”

For the Patriots, they are an organization in need of a dynamic signal-caller to come in and give them "hope" in the AFC. For Daniels, he meets the criteria.

“At the beginning of the season, I wouldn’t have guessed that Daniels would appear in the top 10 of my first mock draft. But in studying his tape and seeing his continual improvements, you start to run out of reasons why he doesn’t belong," Brugler said last month. "I think several teams slotted in the top 10 will think the same way.”

Malik Nabers Remains a Top Wideout Option:

- The Athletic: No. 6 Overall to the New York Giants

- ESPN: No. 5 Overall to the Los Angeles Chargers

Nabers entered the 2023 season as a player many circled as a first round draft selection and boy did he live up to the hype.

On his way to breaking LSU's all-time receptions and receiving yards records, Nabers checked off every box he had in Year 3.

Now, the Biletnikoff Finalist is looking to be selected near the top of the first round.

In Brugler's Mock Draft 1.0, he had Nabers selected No. 6 overall by the New York Giants.

“Over the past month, I think Nabers separated himself for several teams as WR2 in this draft,” Brugler siad. “The only FBS pass catcher with 1,500-plus receiving yards in 2023, he also leads the country with 34 receptions of 20-plus yards. The only other college receiver with that many explosive catches over the last five years? Another LSU receiver, Ja’Marr Chase, who had 34 in 2019.

“The Giants obviously still have high hopes for Jalin Hyatt and Wan’Dale Robinson, but adding Nabers gives the offense a legitimate No. 1 threat.”

Now, he's entering Top 5 territory with ESPN's latest mock slotting him at No. 5 to the Chargers. 

Per LSU Release Before the Bowl Game: Nabers has had a record-setting year, leading the nation in receiving yards with 1,546 and ranked No. 2 nationally in receiving touchdowns with 14. He’s had nine games with at least 100-yards receiving, which includes a career-best 239 yards and two touchdowns on 13 catches in a win over Mississippi State.

Nabers has been the nation’s top receiver when it comes to big plays as he leads the country in plays of 20-plus yards (34) and 30-plus yards (34). He also has seven plays of 40-plus yards.

Nabers has totaled 187 receptions for 3,303 yards and 21 touchdowns during his three year stint in Baton Rouge.

The star wideout had a mission to break the LSU all-time receiving yards record, suiting up in the bowl game to do so.

“That record hasn’t been broken in over 20 years and whoever has the opportunity, I feel like they would want to do the same,” Nabers said. “I came here to play with a chip on my shoulder. Didn’t care who I was playing, how many games we had left. I never left my team out there to dry so this record is mine to break.”

It's no secret Daniels and Nabers put the country on notice after a standout 2023 campaign with NFL Draft experts acknowledging the lethal duo.