JT Daniels 2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Background: 

• Transferred to West Virginia after spending two seasons at USC and another two at UGA

• Has struggled with injuries throughout his career, suffering MCL & ACL tear early in 2019 season and then losing starting job in 2021 to Stetson Bennett amid upper-body (oblique/lat) injuries
• Graduated high school (Mater Dei Catholic in California) a year early to enroll early at USC, where he won the starting job.

System: 

• Scheme tendencies: Air Raid offense
• 2022 projected role: Starting QB

Pros: JT Daniels is a high-IQ passer who operates with a lot of pre-snap control—his reputation as a “pro-style passer” coming out of the high school ranks is evident when you watch him get under/behind center and get the offensive infrastructure set and in place. He’s setting protections and checking plays with consistency across both his time at USC and Georgia. Because of this, Daniels is pretty consistent with understanding when he’s hot or when the front is blocked up and his urgency as a passer mirrors those individual game situations. I appreciate the drops that Daniels takes and the timing he executes within the quick game—and also as someone taking shots to hitch and sync up his throws appropriately. He is, in general, a timing passer who executed a lot of spot-and-stick concepts in quick game. Daniels did throw some of his receivers open in tight man coverage by attacking the back shoulder, specifically George Pickens in 2020, illustrating an understanding of situational targets that an NFL quarterback will need to have in his bag. Daniels is accurate in rhythm and has shown effective play from within the pocket to throw through passing lanes.

Cons: JT Daniels is going to need to come into Morgantown and earn (and keep) the starting job, for starters. He hasn’t been a full-time starter since his true freshman season in 2018 due to some major injuries. That lack of workload shows up in some of his habits as a quarterback in the present time, as well—I was not inspired by how he handled quick pressure prompted by losses by his offensive line or when his hots were capped. The athletic profile to extend plays is not going to be a strength, nor is the raw arm strength to aggressively push the ball down the field—he doesn’t have the kind of velocity to consistently push the ball downfield. Deep targets that went 30-plus yards downfield seemed to hang and force receivers to come back to the football. I thought he was overly reliant at times on Pickens in 2020, for better and for worse. Defenses that showed him pressure before dropping out and undercutting the quick routes in the passing game were able to contest some throws that honestly shouldn’t have been thrown, including the interception to LB Baylon Spector in the Clemson game.

JT Daniels NFL Draft Scouting Report by Kyle Crabbs