Cons
Nothing is a slam dunk, especially when talking about quarterbacks. It’s clear now that Daniels has had a complex career. Part of that complexity has also included some issues that are tough to ignore.
Ideally, a school wants a player at Daniels’ level to come in and progress. Sure, there might be some struggles in their first year, but the expectation is to always see that line trending up.
With Daniels, that never really happened. It’s not that the line trended down, it was just all over the place. His 2019 set expectations even higher for the player he could be, but almost three years later, he’s yet to become that player.
Some will say that after three years a team knows what they have in a guy. Daniels played in 29 games at Arizona State, not a small sample size at all, and he did not turn into the all-conference guy many thought he would be.
None of Daniels’ career passing stats jumps out from the page. Before 2021, his TD-INT ratio was great, but last season killed that with an even 10-10 ratio in that category.
This past season also saw Daniels post his worst passer rating yet while ranking just 43rd in the country in ESPN’s QBR.
If LSU gets the 2021 version of Daniels, is that really better than what they were going to get from anyone currently on the roster? There’s a good chance the answer to that question is no.
So far, Daniels is a player that has shown flashes of brilliance but never put together anything consistent. After three years, why should anyone expect anything else?
Next: Writer’s take