Like it or not, concerns regarding Jayden Daniels are valid
By John Fye
Jayden Daniels is historically reluctant to go deep
Jayden Daniels is exceptionally talented, especially with his legs. His legs logged many yards and big plays in 2022. However, most fans understand that teams cannot always rely on the quarterback’s ability to scramble.
The Alabama Crimson Tide learned such a lesson with Jalen Hurts late in 2018. Hurts was very successful as a two-year Tide starting quarterback, but eventually, the better defenses found ways to keep him inside the pocket. As such, the onus fell on the young quarterback to move the offense with his arm.
Hurts wasn’t an efficient passer then; thus, Nick Saban was forced to call on his younger, pocket-passing backup quarterback, who wore No. 13 and eye black in the shape of a crucifix on both cheeks.
Sound familiar?
Daniels must push the ball downfield to enable an LSU season good enough to return to the College Football Playoff. He did throw the ball to the tune of 2,913 yards and 17 touchdowns. However, advanced metrics indicate Daniels threw the ball downfield less than his SEC foes.
According to Pro Football Focus, 50.6% of Daniels’s passes were short (0-9 yards), 21.6% medium (10-19 yards), and 11.2% deep (20+ yards). For context, Georgia’s Stetson Bennett threw 26% of his passes in the medium range and 13.7% deep.
The percentage does not seem like a significant difference, but volume matters. As such, Bennett pushed the ball downfield (10+ yards) 31 times more than Daniels. In other words, the 5th-year senior’s 68.6% completion percentage isn’t as sexy considering the high volume of shorter, safer throws.
2022’s LSU vs. Auburn contest is arguably the most significant example of Jayden Daniels’ stumbles in the passing game. He was utterly out of sync with his receivers resulting in 8-for-20 passing attempts and 80 yards.
Thankfully the purple and gold Tigers won the game over the orange and blue. However, such was not the case three significant occasions later in LSU’s 2022 season.