The Jayden Daniels Tracker

[Ashburn Dave]

Not sure if this article has been posted yet but it talks about the two German engineers who developed JD's VR system and how they introduced LSU and JD to it.

The German VR ‘flight simulator’ behind LSU QB Jayden Daniels’ Heisman-caliber 2023 season

Jayden Daniels has had a breakthrough season as a Heisman Trophy finalist at LSU. There is a hidden technological layer to his growth.

www.nytimes.com

 

[mistertim]

I dunno what would happen if they flipped spots.

What I do know is Hurts is very good.

There were all these people who in the 70s who thought anybody could play QB for the Steelers because that team was stacked, defensively, offensively, it is littered with HOF players.

And Terry Bradshaw was the guy who pulled the trigger and made it all work. And there is something to that. Is he the best QB of all time? No. But he has 4 rings and on the HOF because he was the right guy in the right place at the right time and could orchestrate the success.

I see Hurts in a similar way.

And Jayden needs to stack at least 2 seasons together before you can put him ahead of Hurts in my opinion.

I’d much prefer to have JD5 than Hurts long term. But I think Hurts gets more criticism than he earns.

I think Hurts is very good but not elite. IMO the top 5 are the guys who are clearly the reason they're winning and can put the team on their back. Hurts hasn't ever had to do that, and I don't really see him as a guy who can. IMO without a top supporting cast he would be a decent QB, but nothing special; certainly not top 10.

And I would be absolutely shocked if you flipped JD and Hurts last year and Hurts was able to get us anywhere near the playoffs with a poor defense, mediocre OL and utterly unremarkable weapons outside of Terry.

Could I be wrong? Sure. But until Hurts shows that he can elevate a mediocre cast to a SB contender, he doesn't belong in the top 5. Top 10? sure. Which is exactly where NFL coaches, scouts, and GMs placed him in ESPN's recent top 10 QB rankings (Hurts came in at 9, JD at 5).

 

[Conn]

Caleb has a couple really nice throws in this game and the stats look good, but on the other hand from day ONE Jayden Daniels wasn’t doing this sort of thing, this has to drive Ben Johnson nuts:

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

Caleb has a couple really nice throws in this game and the stats look good, but on the other hand from day ONE Jayden Daniels wasn’t doing this sort of thing, this has to drive Ben Johnson nuts:

I hope it drives him so nuts he has to commit himself to a 1800’s style mental institution where treatment is drugs and constant beatings.

Seriously fuck that guy sideways in the ass with a chainsaw. Some of the most unprofessional behavior I’ve ever seen 2 years ago.

And that’s the tame version of how I feel about Ben Johnson.

 

[Anselmheifer]

Regarding Jayden vs Hurts, I do respect Hurts. He’s won two superbowls and played well in them.

In his entire career, he hasn’t posted the QBR that Jayden did as a rookie. And he’s had a better supporting cast, both on offense and defense, for the entire time.

When the scouts and executives around the league were polled, Jayden was 5th and Hurts was what, 12th?

Hurts is Jared Goff. Give him an amazing OL, a top 5WR, a great WR2, the best RB in the league, the best defense in the league, he can look great. But he’s not great.

 

[burgold]

I think I'm starting to think about Hurts the way I used to think about Eli.

Regular season Hurts is nothing special, but playoff Hurts...? Watch out.

 

[SkinsFTW]

Regarding Jayden vs Hurts, I do respect Hurts. He’s won two superbowls and played well in them.

He actually lost the first one and let's be honest, Taylor Heineke would have won the second one as well. Hell, Sam Hartman might have had a chance in that one.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

He actually lost the first one and let's be honest, Taylor Heineke would have won the second one as well. Hell, Sam Hartman might have had a chance in that one.

I get the joke but not, neither would have.

 

[Conn]

Thought this post from a former chiefs OL (and the conversation it’s in response to) might be interesting for people in this thread. Now that we’ve got a stud franchise QB with superpowers I find myself a lot more interested in how other guys like him win and lose snap to snap, and how they’re alike and different. This conversation about pre-snap and post-snap abilities and the differences between them is interesting imo:



I wonder where Jayden falls on this “scale” and where he’ll grow to?

 

[Califan007]

re: the VR headset:

I remember McNabb wearing strobe glasses while practicing that made it seem like everything sped up visually, so that the game slowed down for him when he took them off. Apparently it also helped with avoiding staring down receivers as well. I remember wondering if any other QBs used them or if it was just him. 20 years later VR headsets replaces those glasses.

20 years from now they’ll probably be using holograms of opposing defenses on the practice field lol…

 

[SkinsInSATX]

I can admit, after last season, that I was wrong about wanting Maye over Jayden. Because of thinking, it was more his receivers allowing him to shine at LSU, he wouldn't be as successful at the next level!

As a life long fan of this franchise, I'm thankful that he is now our franchise QB, and hope he gets better every year!

I am also now convinced, that the poster "That NFL Chick" in the ES board, was JD5 pounding the table for himself and trying to convince us he was the man all along!! 😂😂

 

[BayouBrave86]

Hey I was JD5’s biggest believer haha! Skins chick was right there too though for sure. Hope she finds this board one day. We have the future face of the league and I’m not expecting a sophomore slump. The game will be even slower for him this season and he has a better oline and better weapons.

 

[Simeon]

I can admit, after last season, that I was wrong about wanting Maye over Jayden. Because of thinking, it was more his receivers allowing him to shine at LSU, he wouldn't be as successful at the next level!

As a life long fan of this franchise, I'm thankful that he is now our franchise QB, and hope he gets better every year!

I am also now convinced, that the poster "That NFL Chick" in the ES board, was JD5 pounding the table for himself and trying to convince us he was the man all along!! 😂😂

Jayden does look like a much better choice now and part of me wants to worship AP as the Return of the Jedi Manager because I would have taken Maye. But let’s remember it’s not apples to apples yet, we all knew Maye would take time to develop because of experience and some flaws in his game that would hopefully be corrected with coaching.

We will need to compare the JD of last year with the Maye of next year.

 

[Faithful Fan]

Honestly I wanted JJ McCarthy at the time. I’m happy to be wrong, Jayden has proven to be not just great but special, and I would not have any other QB. I still think JJ will be good though.

 

[Pokey]

Jayden's build scared the hell out of me going into that draft. Not going to lie. I was trending more towards Maye, but I was proven wrong.

 

[Chris]

Jayden's build scared the hell out of me going into that draft. Not going to lie. I was trending more towards Maye, but I was proven wrong.

I was never a fan of Maye after watching all of his games. I added to that that he wasn’t very good at all against ACC competition which isn’t anything to write home about. Big bodied athlete, sure, I’ll give him that but he is missing something at the position that can’t 100% be written away by his age. A certain reverse je ne sais quoi. I would have taken JJ over him.

Daniels frame was indeed a major concern leading up to the draft. That alone held me back. Since his intangibles along with his physical skills have come to light, I’m ecstatic to have been wrong.

​

 

[skinsmarydu]

Daniels frame was indeed a major concern leading up to the draft. That alone held me back. Since his intangibles along with his physical skills have come to light, I’m ecstatic to have been wrong.

​

You get an "Amen".

I was leaning toward Bo, but I'm damn grateful for what we got. Last season was phenom, kinda like 2012. I don't want it to end.

 

[Conn]

Jayden does look like a much better choice now and part of me wants to worship AP as the Return of the Jedi Manager because I would have taken Maye. But let’s remember it’s not apples to apples yet, we all knew Maye would take time to develop because of experience and some flaws in his game that would hopefully be corrected with coaching.

We will need to compare the JD of last year with the Maye of next year.

Sure, but every year your QB on a rookie contract isn’t making you a contender is a year of value lost when compared against a rookie contract QB who is.

So even if Maye develops to be similarly good as Jayden after another couple seasons, if both stay healthy how do you ever make that value up (unless Maye eventually wins a SB and Jayden doesn’t). The Patriots don’t care because they didn’t have the choice between then on draft day, but we did and Quinn/AP will benefit and gain job security from the hot start they’re afforded these first 3 years, which will create more stability for Jayden, which will make us more competitive etc. etc. A self-sustaining perpetual motion machine for QB development and production (and Franchise stability), all possible because Jayden Daniels was essentially elite from day one. Maye is already on his second entire coaching staff.

 

[Simeon]

Sure, but every year your QB on a rookie contract isn’t making you a contender is a year of value lost when compared against a rookie contract QB who is.

So even if Maye develops to be similarly good as Jayden after another couple seasons, if both stay healthy how do you ever make that value up (unless Maye eventually wins a SB and Jayden doesn’t). The Patriots don’t care because they didn’t have the choice between then on draft day, but we did and Quinn/AP will benefit and gain job security from the hot start they’re afforded these first 3 years, which will create more stability for Jayden, which will make us more competitive etc. etc. A self-sustaining perpetual motion machine for QB development and production (and Franchise stability), all possible because Jayden Daniels was essentially elite from day one. Maye is already on his second entire coaching staff.

I agree with that, for now. Surely makes a difference for the next couple of years. Long term I I could see Maye being just as good but not better. Only way Maye is the better choice is if JD’s body doesn’t hold up as long, which was a concern then but less so now that we’ve seen him progress in protecting himself during games. Not counting the last one.

 

[RexTomb]

I agree with that, for now. Surely makes a difference for the next couple of years. Long term I I could see Maye being just as good but not better. Only way Maye is the better choice is if JD’s body doesn’t hold up as long, which was a concern then but less so now that we’ve seen him progress in protecting himself during games. Not counting the last one.