Former rival offers stern warning to Patriots about Jayden Daniels

The NFL Draft approaches. The New England Patriots pick third on night one. We already know that, right? The debate begins when we begin discussing what they ought to do with their selection.

Everyone has offered their opinion and will continue to do so from now until we arrive at the annual selection meeting. Mike Tannenbaum recently took a swing of his own.

He, like so many, suggested the acquisition of a quarterback. That Mac Jones thing didn't work out, and no one's pumped about Bailey Zappe or Jacoby Brissett.

There's another side to the coin though. The guy he mentions comes with some concern. Buckle up everyone. This one's pretty interesting.

Mike Tannenbaum sends Jayden Daniels to the Patriots third overall, but his theory also houses a few 'concerns'.

If you're a younger or casual Pats fan and the name Mike Tanenbaum sounds familiar, that's because it should. He spent 16 seasons with the hated New York Jets, his final seven as their general manager and senior vice president of football operations.

He also founded The 33rd Team and also currently works as an NFL analyst for ESPN. He recently cooked up a mock draft for the latter. You guessed it. He sends a quarterback to Foxborough.

Tannenbaum sends Caleb Williams (USC) and Drake Maye (North Carolina) to the Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders respectively, His choice for New England in Round 1 with the third overall selection is Jayden Daniels, formerly of the LSU Tigers.

He does, however, slap a warning label on the Daniels theory. Here's some of what he had to say:

"Daniels is coming off a massive final season at LSU, throwing 40 touchdown passes, improving his completion rate to 72.2%, avoiding turnovers with only four interceptions, and rushing for 1,134 yards and 10 more scores. I have concerns about his build -- he was listed at six-foot-four, 210 pounds at LSU and didn't weigh in at the combine -- and he needs to add weight to withstand the rigors of an NFL season. But I really like the idea of Jacoby Brissett already being in New England, which would allow the Pats to let Daniels develop; there's no rush or rule that says he has to play right out of the gate."

We've heard concerns expressed about smallish QBs before. Look no further than the 2023 NFL Draft's first-overall selection, Bryce Young. He struggled mightily and was beat up in his first season with the Carolina Panthers.

Daniels may have a higher ceiling than Young though. He certainly has a higher ceiling than Zappe and Brissett. During his final season at LSU, he completed 72 percent of his passes while stacking 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns, and four interceptions. He also reached the end zone ten times as a rusher. He was hugely impressive versus Ole Miss, Auburn, and Florida State.

Daniels can learn to throw with anticipation more often. He doesn't see the field well all of the time. He opted out of a lot of the NFL Scouting Combine's events, so we didn't get to see him there. Trust us on this one though. He'd upgrade the Patriots offense.

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