Jayden Daniels' Impressive Pro Day Keeps His Draft Momentum Going

The Heisman Trophy winner showed out on Wednesday.

Jayden Daniels / Michael Hickey/GettyImages

The Jayden Daniels hype train kept chugging along on Wednesday as the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner put on a show at his pro day. That performance should only increase the helium in his ever rising draft stock.

Daniels put quite the exclamation point on his college career with an excellent 2023 campaign. The LSU product threw for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns with only four interceptions. He also racked up 1,134 yards on the ground with 10 rushing touchdowns. The Tigers went 10-3 with Daniels under center and ended up outside of the College Football Playoff picture, but that didn't prevent him from taking home the Heisman Trophy.

Once considered a fringe first-round pick at best, Daniels' NFL Draft stock has only risen since the end of his final collegiate season. His dual-threat capabilities and remarkable improvement curve has catapulted him into consideration for a top-five pick. At this point, it wouldn't surprise anyone to see Daniels end up as the second quarterback taken after Caleb Williams goes No. 1 overall to the Chicago Bears.

Daniels chose to not participate in the NFL combine, so his draft process really got started on Wednesday at LSU's pro day. He was weighed and measured, then stepped onto the field for a passing session. Daniels showed evaluators that the hype around his deep ball, one of his strongest attributes, is well-deserved. He threw a few gorgeous passes to LSU teammates Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr., a pair of likely first-round picks themselves.

It was key for Daniels to show off his arm for evaluators in person. He had 70 completions of 20 yards or more in 2023, an insane number that led all FBS quarterbacks. It is maybe his biggest strength as a passer and since he couldn't show off his dangerous scrambling ability at a pro day, he needed to nail his throwing session. He did.

Interestingly, Daniels' team refused to schedule any meetings with NFL teams until his pro day. Now that it's all said and done, the Heisman winner has six meetings set up with interested parties. Those meetings will include the Washington Commanders and New England Patriots, holders of the second and third overall picks, respectively.

LSU's pro day was the one and only glimpse teams and fans will get of Daniels going through drills before the NFL draft. From all accounts, he did as well as could be expected. Whatever doubts anyone had about the LSU quarterback being a selected early in the draft should be put to bed.

Liam McKeone is a staff writer for The Big Lead.