Todd McShay: Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels are ‘1a and 1b’ among QBs in NFL Draft

According the ESPN NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay, it’s between Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels for the top quarterback prospect in 2024. McShay tweeted Tuesday that Williams and Daniels are ‘1a and 1b’ among QBs with a little more than a month until the draft.

“I believe Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels are 1a and 1b in this year’s QB class… and evaluators from multiple teams I’ve spoken with agree,” he wrote.

This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, as Williams and Daniels have routinely been listed among the top three quarterbacks along with Drake Maye. The majority of mocks have Williams going No. 1 overall, but there are some differences of opinion when it comes to Daniels and Maye.

McShay, however, likes Daniels over the North Carolina product.

Daniels spent the past two seasons playing at LSU and won the Heisman Trophy in 2023. He put up video game-like numbers in leading the Tigers to a 10-3 record this past season, throwing for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns and four interceptions as well as 1,134 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns.

Daniels became just the seventh player in college football history to throw for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in the same season, joining company like Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts. He also was the first player to throw for 300 yards and rush for 200 in the same game, recording 372 yards passing, 234 yards rushing and five total touchdowns on Nov. 11 against Florida.

Williams, like Daniels, is also a Heisman winner. He claimed the award in 2022 and threw for a combined 8,170 yards, 72 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in two seasons as a starter at USC. He led the Trojans to an 11-3 record and Pac-12 Championship appearance in 2022, but USC lost five of its final six games to end the regular season this year.

Neither Williams nor Daniels opted to throw at the NFL Combine this past week. However, given their impressive college careers, there wasn’t much they would have needed to prove. Both will still have the opportunity to throw at their schools’ Pro Days later this month.

There’s plenty of talented quarterbacks in this NFL Draft class, but Williams and Daniels clearly stand above the rest in McShay’s eyes. We’ll see where both players land when the 2024 NFL Draft kicks off on April 25 in Detroit.