ASHBURN, Va. — Similar storylines are evident between the LSU Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks set to meet on “Monday Night Football.” What separates Jayden Daniels and Joe Burrow from the pack is their journeys to this starry stratosphere.
Burrow, the Cincinnati Bengals perennial MVP candidate, and Daniels, the Washington Commanders flashy rookie, were on the NFL Draft radar before their final college campaigns. Unlike contemporaries Caleb Williams, Trevor Lawrence and Justin Herbert, they were not close to becoming the first and second overall picks in their respective drafts.
“Before Burrow’s draft year, he was considered a fourth- or fifth-round pick,” said Dane Brugler, The Athletic’s draft insider. “Daniels was viewed as a third- or fourth-round pick. That’s a huge jump to go No. 1 and 2 overall. That’s definitely rare.”
NFL starters can emerge from the middle or late rounds. Still, the initial investment, financially and emotionally, is far less than that of those first-round picks who walk onstage on draft night to shake hands and chest bump with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
But improving so dramatically to become the faces of that year’s draft while the franchises embrace them as their guy at the sport’s most crucial position is remarkable.
“They’re both good examples of keeping an open mind with quarterbacks,” Brugler said. “It’s such a dependent position.”
Neither Burrow nor Daniels entered college football as unknowns. “Both were four-star recruits,” Brugler said. “They didn’t come out of nowhere.”
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The two — both 23-year-old, fifth-year starters upon entering the NFL — simply weren’t viewed as top-of-their-class candidates. Williams and Drake Maye, the passers selected on both sides of Daniels, who was the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, were projected in the top-tier range for over a year.
The two quarterbacks snagged in 2020 after Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa and Herbert, were mock draft staples well before their actual draft. The NFL world saw them coming. The same is true with the first two selections in 2023, Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud.
Everyone’s journey is unique. Daniels’ and Burrow’s draw parallels. They both spent three seasons at one school before transferring to LSU. That’s where, after a solid but not stellar fourth year, they overcame circumstances or their football foibles to solidify high-end grades from the evaluation community.
“Those two guys were thought of very highly in their previous institution,” an NFC scout told The Athletic. “For certain reasons, it took time before showing what they could do.”
Lawrence, the first overall selection in 2021, became a mock draft darling three years earlier after leading Clemson to a national title as a freshman. Daniels started for Arizona State as an 18-year-old freshman. Over his three years with the Sun Devils, “There were times where he looked like Trevor Lawrence,” Brugler said.
Daniels led the nation in yards gained per completion (14.4) in his first year. However, after taking steps forward at ASU, Brugler notes, “The next week, he would totally fall apart.”
Daniels threw 17 touchdown passes as a freshman but only 15 in 17 games over the next two seasons, both impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. He transferred to LSU in 2022, three years after Burrow’s shocking dominance led the Tigers to a national championship.
Referencing Burrow’s 2019 stats as excellent is an understatement. His 60 touchdown passes, 5,671 passing yards and 76.3 completion percentage — all with only six interceptions and a 15-0 record — led the nation or set all-time college football records. The season raised the bar to improbable heights for future LSU starters.
“He had a tremendous season. Everyone said it was arguably one of the greatest college football seasons ever,” Daniels said.
That’s not how most had imagined Burrow’s final college year. He threw 16 touchdowns in 13 games the season before after attempting only 39 passes over two years at Ohio State, where losing the quarterback battle with the late Dwayne Haskins initiated his transfer. The limited opportunities and data contributed to his Day 3 pick projection ahead of the 2019 season.
Then, the production and quarterback artistry sent Burrow soaring up draft boards. There was plenty of room to grow. The same goes for Daniels, who is the latest long-term QB hope for Washington. The NFC scout said Daniels’ track speed raised his evaluation floor. Daniels’ 2022 production with LSU — 17 touchdown passes, three interceptions, 2,913 passing yards, 885 yards on the ground with 11 rushing touchdowns — was objectively solid. Neither scouts nor the Baton Rouge faithful were particularly moved.
“The fans were very spoiled with what Joe did and the great year he had — national champions, Heisman, all the accolades,” Daniels said. “They were looking for the next (great quarterback). To be able to go through that (scrutiny) my first year — I played really well my first year, and it still wasn’t enough for the fans. … Coming after Joe, it was not easy at all, man. Not at all.”
Like Burrow, Daniels found his stride in his final year with the Tigers. The slender but highly athletic quarterback tied for the national high with 40 touchdown passes — with only four interceptions — while thrashing defenses with his legs, rushing for 1,134 yards and 10 more scores.
“Everything clicked in 2023,” Brugler said. “It felt like (Daniels) had the confidence to think, ‘I know I have the ability, now I just got to go execute.’ And he did it at a very, very high level.”
Daniels’ highlight plays raised his national profile by October. The dominant November performance against SEC rival Florida — 372 yards and three touchdown passes, 234 rushing yards and two more touchdowns — helped quiet the Burrow comparisons.
There is no better player in the country than Jayden Daniels.
85 yards TO THE HOUSE. The moment. pic.twitter.com/e0ug9gYr1E
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) November 12, 2023
“Halfway through the season, we kind of moved past that,” Daniels said. “Like, ‘OK, what Joe did is great. But Jayden’s doing what he’s doing.’”
Expect a side-by-side examination on the Monday night broadcast, though not in terms of what they’ve done as pros. Daniels will play his third career game. Burrow’s resume includes leading Cincinnati to the 2021 Super Bowl. That same year, he paced the NFL with a 70.4 completion percentage and delivered his first 4,000-yard passing season.
Like Burrow, Daniels looked comfortable immediately in the pro game. The rookie scored twice on the ground in Washington’s Week 1 loss at Tampa Bay. Though yet to throw a touchdown pass, he ranks among league leaders in completion percentage (75.5) and yards from scrimmage (542). Daniels has not thrown an interception but notched his first game-winning drive in the 21-18 Week 2 victory over the New York Giants.
“These guys entered the league at 23, having turned 23 the prior December, and as five-year guys in college. It’s something to be said about players that stick around, go through the learning curve of college before you get to the NFL,” Brugler said. “They’re definitely similar in that respect.”
Young, a Heisman-winning two-year starter at Alabama, was benched last week by Carolina two games into his second season. Williams, a three-year college starter with seismic hype, is battling a learning curve through three weeks.
Daniels and Burrow had help at LSU. In their final season, both threw to a pair of wide receivers — Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase for Burrow, Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. for Daniels — who were also selected in the first round.
Washington’s top receiver is on the shortest of lists: people to catch in-game passes from both quarterbacks. Terry McLaurin, a three-year teammate of Burrow’s at Ohio State, describes the signal callers as “really charismatic” as leaders with a “gravitational pull” with teammates on and off the field.
“But when they get on the field, they’re like super competitive individuals,” McLaurin shared with The Athletic. “They’re confident in their ability, and to go out there to make plays with their arm or their legs.”
Ahead of their first face-off, Burrow said of Daniels, “He’s a dynamic player. I really like his throwing motion. … Obviously, he’s really fast and quick and dynamic. But I’m not sure he gets enough credit for the passer that he is.”
Daniels said the good friends haven’t talked recently. Expect a postgame chat on the field between the two former LSU star quarterbacks.
“Joe is Joe, I’m me, two different people,” Daniels said. “One thing I live by is that comparison is the thief of joy. If you keep comparing people, you’ll take the joy out of it.”
Be around the upbeat Daniels, and it’s clear he’s having a good time. Based on lessons learned following a star quarterback with a similar career path, that won’t stop on one of the league’s biggest regular-season stages.
“Don’t ever let a moment get too big or too little, and go out there and silence the noise,” Daniels said. “Because everybody’s going to have an opinion. You just got to go out there and continue to play your game.”
(Top photo: Erick W. Rasco / Sports Illustrated, Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images)
