Jayden Daniels Compared to Patrick Mahomes by CFB Coach: 'Very Hard to Defend'

It's going to turn heads whenever a quarterback prospect is compared to Patrick Mahomes, and that is exactly what happened to LSU's Jayden Daniels ahead of the 2024 NFL draft.

"I tell people this: Outside of Patrick Mahomes, I haven't coached against someone like this," a college coach said, per Bruce Feldman of The Athletic. "He's just very hard to defend. We tried to force him to run it to take it out of his hands. The throws he makes and the timing he has, I thought was second to none. He throws the deep ball extremely accurately."

While Daniels in all likelihood will never reach the level of Mahomes, who is already a three-time Super Bowl champion and one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history at 28 years old, it is hard to argue with the college results.

The LSU product won the Heisman Trophy in 2023 while completing 72.2 percent of his passes for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns and four interceptions. He also ran for 1,134 yards and 10 scores as a dual-threat playmaker.

However, he likely won't even be the top quarterback taken in the draft.

The Chicago Bears are widely expected to take USC's Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick, which is exactly what B/R's NFL Scouting Department predicted in its latest mock draft. Daniels ended up on the Washington Commanders with the No. 2 overall pick in that mock, while North Carolina's Drake Maye went to the New England Patriots at No. 3.

There could even be four quarterbacks to go in the first four picks if another team lands the Arizona Cardinals' No. 4 selection and uses it on Michigan's J.J. McCarthy.

Williams may be the surefire top pick, but that would also create another parallel for Daniels and Mahomes.

Chicago infamously passed on Mahomes with the No. 2 overall pick of the 2017 draft and instead used it on fellow quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. It was a franchise-altering mistake and one the team would surely love back years later.

Perhaps Daniels will eventually develop into the next star quarterback the Bears regret passing on come draft day.