Jayden Daniels NFL draft eligibility: Is the LSU QB draft eligible for 2024?

LSU Tigers starting quarterback Jayden Daniels is draft-eligible for the 2024 NFL Draft in April.

Daniels is in his senior season, which means he has to enter the Draft. He's also in his fifth season at college and second with LSU. Currently, he's projected to be drafted in the NFL, but where he would land is uncertain.

At the moment, ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. has Daniels as the ninth-ranked quarterback, behind Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Shedeur Sanders, Michael Penix Jr., Bo Nix, J.J. McCarthy, Quinn Ewers and Riley Leonard.

Of course, not all those players will enter the Draft, but given Daniels has to, he should hear his name called in the 2024 NFL Draft. One unnamed scout also told On3 that they view Daniels as a potential starting quarterback in the NFL.

“I think he does (have first-round traits),” an NFL scouting source said. “If you take his three or four best games from this past year, I probably think he’s a little bit better than (former Tennessee star and Detroit Lions third-round pick) Hendon Hooker, honestly.

"The scheme is better for Hooker in terms of numbers and production, but some of the stuff that Jayden Daniels does, I think, translates (better). I think quarterback coaches are going to like this guy. I think scouts are going to like this guy. So I think he’s pretty talented, and they (at LSU) think he’s going to have a big year. I think Jayden can be pretty good.”

However, in CBS Sports' latest NFL Mock Draft, Jayden Daniels was not in the first round. He's projected to be a Day 2 pick, according to most mock drafts.

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Jayden Daniels college stats

Jayden Daniels began his college career in 2019 at Arizona State and went 8-4 as the starting quarterback. He followed that up going 2-2 in four starts the next season and 8-5 in 2021.

After three seasons at ASU, Daniels transferred to LSU and won the starting job in 2022 with the Tigers. In his first season at LSU, Daniels went 10-4 as a starter going 266-for-388 for 2,913 yards, 17 touchdowns and three interceptions.

This season, Daniels is 117-for-160 for 1,710 yards, 16 touchdowns and two interceptions.