The 2024 NFL Draft is finally upon us and LSU football could see as many as three former Tigers go tonight in the first round. While speaking with Good Morning Football earlier today, coach Brian Kelly took the time to give a quick elevator pitch for quarterback Jayden Daniels and wide receivers Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr.
Quarterback Jayden Daniels has the chance to be picked very early in the 2024 NFL Draft
What a ride it’s been for quarterback Jayden Daniels since first arriving in Baton Rouge just two years ago. After initially having to battle for a starting spot, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound San Bernardino, CA, product is exiting college as the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner and a projected top-three overall selection in the upcoming draft.
“I think you can turn on the film and you can find the extraordinary things, but I think he does the ordinary things extraordinarily well. And that’s the thing that you look at,” head coach Brian Kelly said about the two-year LSU starter while speaking with Good Morning Football.
“He doesn’t turn the football over. He manages the game extremely well in terms of first, second and third down. He’s a guy that’s gonna work from 5:30 in the morning until late at night. He does all those little things really, really well, and I think that’s important as well.”
In his two seasons under coach Kelly, Daniels was about as productive as you’ll find at the quarterback position in college. Doing quite literally everything for his offense, he totaled 8,744 yards and 78 touchdowns as a part of the purple and gold while completing 72.2 percent of his passes as a senior.
The two main franchises to keep an eye on this evening include the Washington Commanders (pick No. 2) and New England Patriots (pick No. 3) – both of which are in desperate need of a quarterback and have shown plenty of interest in Daniels since the start of the draft process.
Two top-10 selections thanks to wide receiver Malik Nabers?
As good as Jayden Daniels was in 2024, his pass catching group might have been even more impressive from an overall productivity standpoint. In turn, the 2024 NFL Draft should also feature two former Tiger wide receivers, headlined by Malik Nabers, the leader in both receptions and receiving yards in LSU football history.
“Again, aside from the athletic ability, when you turn on the film it’s pretty clear,” the Tiger head coach said about the 6-foot Youngsville, LA, product. “Run after the catch, explosiveness, he can go up and get the football, he can do everything; he’s a Swiss army knife. You can play him in the slot, you can play him outside, he can beat you one-on-one – all of those things. But he is an ultra competitive player.”
I had to take his equipment from him in the bowl game, when most guys – you can’t even get them to play in a bowl game. So, this is a guy who loves to play the game of football, and in this day and age, sometimes, it’s about guys that love to play, and he just loves to play the game.”
In just three seasons with the program, Malik Nabers was one of the most productive wide receivers we’ve ever seen in Baton Rouge, having totaled 189 receptions for 3,003 yards and 21 touchdowns during his career.
The speedy wide receiver is also being projected as a potential top-10 selection, as the Los Angeles Chargers (pick No. 5) New York Giants (pick No. 6) and Chicago Bears (pick No. 9) are the main teams to watch.
Brian Thomas Jr might be the most underrated wide receiver in the draft
Last, but certainly not least, Brian Thomas Jr has the potential to become one of the most underrated selections in the entire 2024 NFL Draft. Whoever ends up landing the 6-foot-4, Walker, LA, product will be getting an immediate scoring threat in the form of a fast, big-bodied, deep threat.
“Well, ascending, in my eyes, this is a guy that is just breaking onto the scene. He won a state championship in basketball. He’s just an incredible athlete who I think is just scratching the surface. Tall, athletic, he’s not just a guy that runs nine routes,” Kelly said about his third and final projected first round selection.
“He can run after the catch, he’s very slippery after he catches the football, he can make people miss. I just think he’s a guy that continues to get better and better.”
Thomas Jr is someone who really broke onto the scene in 2023 as one of the best wide receivers in the country, having led the NCAA in receiving touchdowns through the entire season. As a junior, he managed to put together by far his best performance as a part of the purple and gold, making 68 catches for 1,177 yards and 17 touchdowns through 13 games.
Interestingly enough, while highly underrated, Brian Thomas Jr is also probably the most unpredictable of the three Tigers in terms of where he eventually ends up. Through the draft process thus far, we’ve seen him projected as high as No. 8 to the Atlanta Falcons and as low as No. 28 to the Buffalo Bills. If anything, it’s just a matter of which franchise ends up falling in love with the talented pass catcher.
The 2024 NFL Draft is set to get going in just a matter of hours, as it’s officially scheduled for Thursday, April 25, at 7:00 p.m. CST. The show will take place in Detroit, MI, and will be available to watch live on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network.
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