The 2023 season saw the LSU Tigers’ Jayden Daniels and Malik Nabers connection take the nation by storm, shattering numerous records.
Daniels did not win the 2023 Heisman Trophy by himself, though, since he amassed nearly 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns in the regular season.
Star wide receiver Malik Nabers, who has been the team’s best weapon for the past two years, accompanied the Davey O’Brien Award winner.
Nabers has now entered the 2024 NFL Draft with a projected pick in the Top 10.
Daniels and Nabers are predicted to be chosen in the Top 10 in the updated mock drafts that Dan Brugler of The Athletic and others have started to release.
The two Tigers are listed by Brugler here, along with information about ESPN’s mock draft and other things:
Increase in Jayden Daniels’ Stock:
– The Athletic: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, No. 7 overall
– ESPN: The New England Patriots are ranked third overall.
Daniels had a lot of questions going into the year, but after shocking the SEC every week, it seems like all of them have been resolved.
Daniels was ranked in the second round of most mock drafts as LSU made its way through the 2023 campaign, but in the last two months, things have definitely altered for the better.
In his Mock Draft 1.0, Brugler had Daniels going to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at number seven overall, while ESPN had him at number three.
“This is still an interesting exercise at this point in the draft calendar, but a lot will change between now and April,” Brugler noted. “This projection completely follows what I believe teams would do if the draft were to take place tomorrow; the picks don’t represent my personal rankings or what I would do.
“There are no trades in this mock; it is based on the revised draft order. (I also gave the teams that don’t already have a first-round selection the first picks on Day 2.)
The Patriots are a team that needs a dynamic signal-caller to enter the game and offer them “hope” for the AFC. Daniels believes he fits the bill.
“I never would have imagined that Daniels would be in my first mock draft’s top 10 at the start of the season. However, after looking at his record and observing his steady progress, you start to run out of excuses for why he doesn’t fit in,” Brugler remarked last month. “I believe a few teams that are ranked in the top 10 will have similar thoughts.”