Jayden Daniels Becomes Highest LSU Draft Pick Since Joe Burrow

Jayden Daniels did it. He jumped all the way to the top of the NFL Draft, and ended up getting selected with the #2 overall pick. That's the highest any LSU player has been taken in the NFL Draft since Joe Burrow went #1 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Daniels becomes the first LSU player taken with the #2 pick since the 1973 NFL Draft, where quarterback Bert Jones was selected by the Baltimore Colts. Jones would win the 1976 NFL MVP Award.

Though it wasn't always a sure thing that Daniels would be a top NFL Draft pick. When Daniels first started getting on NFL Draft radar, he was still listed near the bottom of ranks for draft-eligible quarterbacks. He was consistently ranked in NFL Draft projections behind Joe Milton from Tennessee, JJ McCarthy from Michigan, and Michael Penix, JR from Washington.

While many of the quarterbacks that were rated ahead of Daniels in these early mock drafts did get selected in the first round of the 2024 Draft, they didn't go ahead of Daniels. In fact, the only quarterback that went before Daniels was USC's Caleb Williams, who had been projected as the number one overall pick for a few seasons. So that wasn't a shock at the draft at all.

Daniels now tries to write his own NFL story as a top pick from LSU. So far Joe Burrow has flashed greatness, but has been injured often in his pro career. Previous #1 overall pick and LSU quarterback, Jamarcus Russell (2007 NFL Draft) is regarded as one of the (if not the) biggest NFL Draft bust in history. Before that, it was Bert Jones taken in '73.