NFL analyst explains ranking Jayden Daniels ahead of Caleb Williams

LSU Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels.

ESPN NFL analyst and former quarterback Dan Orlovsky isn’t backing down regarding his take about Jayden Daniels of the LSU Tigers and not Caleb Williams of the USC Trojans being the best player at the position in this year’s draft class.

“I think the best quarterback in the draft is Jayden Daniels,” Orlovsky said during Wednesday’s edition of the ESPN “First Take” program. “I think the most talented is Caleb Williams. Talented is that natural applied skill, where best is the most excellent and effective quality.”

The Chicago Bears have all but told anyone who will listen that they will make Williams the first pick of this year’s draft on the night of April 25.

It was previously thought that the Washington Commanders were essentially a lock to take Daniels at No. 2, but some now believe the LSU product could be the fourth quarterback drafted after Williams, Michigan Wolverines starter J.J. McCarthy and Drake Maye of the North Carolina Tar Heels.

“When we’re talking about who owns the line of scrimmage better between these two guys,” Orlovsky continued, “when it comes to getting in and out of checks and changing protections, I would make the claim that that’s Jayden Daniels.”

Orlovsky added that he’d take Daniels over Williams as it pertains to “a quicker and more lightning release,” who is “a little more ‘twitched up’ when it comes to fast hands” and who consistently goes to the right place with the football. Orlovsky also claimed game film shows Williams had more “extreme misses” than Daniels.

It appears that few, if any, individuals making decisions for clubs this spring agree with Orlovsky’s assessments even though former quarterback and current NFL analyst Ryan Leaf said earlier this month that he thinks Williams needs to sit throughout the 2024 season.

The Bears have already begun teaching Williams their offense, and McCarthy’s surprising rise among mock drafters suggests Daniels may fall down the actual draft order roughly one month from now.

“Caleb, I think, is widely talented,” Orlovsky continued. “I just think when it comes to the quality…of the play, Jayden is higher in that regard.”

If nothing else, Orlovsky deserves credit for standing by his evaluations regardless of what others think about Daniels compared to Williams, McCarthy and Maye.

McCarthy is the flavor of the week among draft gurus who feel there’s no longer much to say about Williams, but that could change over the next four weeks.

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