Here’s a look at how Jayden Daniels fared in the 37-20 evisceration at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Good
Through the air, Daniels went a tidy 17 of 24 for 184 yards with no touchdowns, though he had two very close calls, as his receivers were tackled at the one yard line. He also had no interceptions and no close calls. His passes went to his guys or nobody. That is a valuable skill in the NFL. Another valuable skill is finding your check downs, which Jayden excelled at. Running backs and tight ends accounted for 129 of his 184 yards.
When he was in rhythm, Daniel’s was accurate and decisive.
Daniels added 16 carries for 88 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground. Here’s hoping 16 carries is a career high.
He also seemed to have an awareness of when to protect himself, though his slide technique could use some—ahem—fine tuning.
The not so good
Jayden spent much the day under heavy pressure, as the new look offensive line struggled with protection, and when he was forced to move off of his spot, he went with what he knew and took off running instead of keeping his eyes downfield.
These scrambles were fun and productive (88 yards rushing) but they led to Jayden taking some unnecessary hits, including one to his head.
Defensive coordinators will also take note that Daniels will not be a threat to pass if they can get him out of his rhythm, and those fun scrambles could become much less fun as the season progresses.
The connection with his wide receivers just wasn’t there, with only 55 receiving yards being accounted for by that group. Daniels missed on 2 deep balls to Terry McLaurin, who had a disappointing day overall.
Without seeing the All-22 film, it is difficult to pinpoint the source of the disconnect.
The verdict
Jayden Daniels’ first game as a pro was efficient and, at times, fun to watch but was marred, in this writer’s opinion, by an eagerness to vacate the pocket and pick up yardage with his legs. The All-22 will reveal if he made the right decisions or if he left yards on the field by running too soon, I suspect the latter.
The hope is that, in time, he can learn to use his legs to buy time for his arm, and that he can protect himself long enough for that time to come.
Stay tuned
Comments