It didn’t take long for Matt Ryan to find a second career post-football. He immediately slid into the booth for CBS on Sunday afternoons, where he’s proven to be a natural, and now that the season is over, he can be seen all over social media giving his thoughts on several topics around the league. Most recently, Ryan gave his opinion on Heisman Trophy winner and potential Falcons target Jayden Daniels as he prepares for the NFL Draft.
“It is the Lamar Jackson comparison. To me, I think Caleb (Williams) is clear one, I think Drake (Maye) is a two, but this (Jayden Daniels) might be the most intriguing prospect in terms of the entire skill set and his ability to use his legs.”
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Matt Ryan isn’t the first and he isn’t going to be the last to compare Jayden Daniels to Lamar Jackson because of their athletic ability. But as someone who watched Jackson closely in college and has watched every single one of Daniels’ games, they aren’t very similar prospects.
Daniels is an incredible athlete that will be able to affect the game with his legs at the next level. He was able to effortlessly glide away and make defenders miss in college. Daniels isn’t quite on the level of Jackson in terms of running ability, but it is a weapon that will make life easier for him, especially early on in his career as he adjusts to NFL defenses.
However, where Daniels separates himself significantly from Jackson as a prospect is as a passer. Jackson was inaccurate at all three levels coming out of college, and it’s taken him years to develop that area of his game. Daniels is miles ahead of him coming out of college as a passer. The effort he put into last offseason was evident on the field this past season.
Daniels went from a guy whose arm couldn’t really be trusted and turned into one of the most prolific passers in college football. His deep ball is a thing of beauty. It’s almost always placed perfectly, and he throws an incredibly catchable football. Like all NFL quarterbacks, there is going to be a learning curve, but Daniels can stretch the field vertically as well as any quarterback in this class, and he almost never put the ball in harm’s way during his two years at LSU.
This isn’t a quarterback that just got by on his athleticism on the way to the Heisman Trophy. Daniels is a pass-first QB that is capable of making explosive plays out of nothing when the play breaks down, making him, as Matt Ryan said, the most intriguing prospect int his class. He’s going to make a team very happy in the near future.
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Photographer: John Korduner/Icon Sportswire
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