DETROIT — A little more than 24 hours from the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, many NFL prospects in attendance for the event seem to know nothing concrete about their eventual fate. After USC quarterback Caleb Williams, the presumptive No. 1 overall pick to the Chicago Bears on Thursday, the rest of the picture — especially with the top quarterbacks — gets cloudier.
But for LSU’s Jayden Daniels, he said he’ll be happy going wherever he ends up.
Daniels is considered the speculative favorite to be the second pick, currently owned by the Washington Commanders. He dismissed on Wednesday recent media reports suggesting that Washington might not be his first choice for a landing spot, saying he “100 percent” would be fine if the Commanders drafted him second overall.
“I’m blessed to go wherever I’m called,” Daniels told reporters at Wednesday’s “Play Football” event with Special Olympics athletes. “Whoever calls my phone, (when the) commissioner gets up and says my name, I’ll be blessed, and they’re going to get my all.
“That’s the best … the best opportunity. I will say they believe in me, so I’m gonna put in the work.”
Daniels noted that he hasn’t received any definitive word on how things will go down on the clock. His only expectation for Round 1, he said laughing, was “to hear my name called” — and any control he might have had over the process was now out of his hands.
“I don’t have a choice in (the matter),” Daniels said. “The only choice is to be blessed wherever I go.”
Daniels was one of about 20 NFL prospects — including other QBs such as UNC’s Drake Maye, Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. — whom the Commanders invited on a team visit simultaneously, taking the group to a local Topgolf for some friendly long-driving competition. Daniels told reporters that he did not view the visit as some measure of their competitiveness, but rather a way to get a feel for how the players all interacted.
“I just had fun with the guys,” said Daniels, who admitted his golf game is in its rudimentary stages. “Just being able to interact with people throughout the process and obviously, you know, just go out there and have a little fun. So it was cool.”
Daniels has thought about what playing in a Kliff Kingsbury offense might be like, having met with the new Commanders offensive coordinator on their visit and at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
“Obviously his track record with mobile quarterbacks, you know, Kyler (Murray), Pat Mahomes, Johnny Manziel in college,” Daniels said. “I’ve been familiar with Kliff, as he was (with the) Arizona (Cardinals) when I was at Arizona State, so I’m pretty much there with (what he does).”
But is Daniels a lock to go to Washington? There also have been growing rumors that the Raiders are doing what they can to move up to the second pick, with eyes on drafting Daniels. He was coy when asked how strong a likelihood the Raiders taking him might be.
“I’m just like y’all, I really don’t know what’s going to happen,” Daniels said. “I have people saying (to me), ‘Hey, anything can happen on draft day.’ But we’ll see.”
Daniels previously played at Arizona State when Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce was on staff there, and the two have known each other since before Daniels was in high school. He said he trusts Pierce, who recruited him to ASU, even promising Daniels he’d win the Heisman Trophy one day. That happened, although Pierce had already left for the Raiders by then, and Daniels was playing for LSU instead.
“It would be good,” Daniels said of the idea of playing for Pierce and the Raiders. “I mean, anywhere I go will be a blessing. But, you know, I’ve been knowing AP since I was a teenager. Just (having) our relationship, like off the field, that would mean a lot.”
Maye likewise wasn’t showing any stress on Wednesday about how Round 1 will play out. He said he had “some idea” where he might land but wasn’t saying where.
“I’m not sure. I wish I knew for sure,” Maye told reporters in Detroit. “It’s not as easy as that, but I’m ready to go wherever.”
Asked if there were butterflies one day away from learning his draft fate, Maye suggested those have been gone for a little while now.
“I’m excited,” he said. “I think all the nerves were out (when I was) doing all the meetings and formal interviews and all that. Right now, I’m just getting ready to enjoy it and hopefully hear my name called.”
The Patriots at No. 3 feel like a natural landing spot for the North Carolina product. But New England also has continued to field trade requests, with the Giants and Vikings reported as two possible landing spots. Maye said he was happy to hear that multiple teams might be interested in moving up for him.
“It means a lot,” Maye said. “I think not only knowing who I am on the field, but now of course they met me off the field, kind of what that means to me. Anywhere I go, I’m ready to go. You’re ready to go compete and ready to play and hopefully give a franchise a new star quarterback.”
Williams didn’t confirm on Wednesday if the Bears would take him first overall. He did feel confident enough to answer a question about possibly playing in a domed stadium in Chicago, which has been proposed for life after Soldier Field.
“If that were the place, I’d be excited. If that was the thing that was happening — I’d be excited,” Williams told reporters on Wednesday, seeming unfazed by the cold, windy weather at Corner Ballpark in Detroit.
Williams might have had more fun than any of the other quarterbacks at the event on Wednesday, showing his carefree style in interacting with the Special Olympians, even trying his hand as a defensive back. He also stuck around as long as anyone to answer questions about the Bears and his fellow 2024 draft quarterbacks.
As the process starts winding to a close and the draft quickly approaches, the talk will soon turn to what this QB class can do as professionals. They might not all know where they’re headed, but Williams said he believes this class has a chance to be a special one.
“It could be really historic, “Williams said. “It all depends on them and what they do at their respective places, wherever they get drafted. It all comes down to them and how they control the controllables and things that can make them special.”
Thursday we’ll find out how and where these quarterback pieces will fall into place.
