Welcome again to Saturday Scouting, the place I profile a participant, idea, or matchup that’s of curiosity to the Bucs. This week’s topic is a participant Bucs offensive coordinator Zac Robinson highlighted at rookie mini-camp: new quarterback Jalon Daniels.
“Jalon Daniels was a guy we were excited about,” Robinson mentioned. “We thought he was going to get drafted; we were really surprised he did not get drafted. He’s got really good arm talent, he’s got some athleticism, he sees the game well, he processes. Got to clean up a lot of things fundamentally from college, which most of these guys do, but Jalon I thought did a great job just commanding the rookie camp.”
That’s a number of phrases a couple of participant who didn’t hear his title referred to as over three days in April. It’s additionally a helpful abstract of what the Kansas tape truly reveals, each the elements that specify why Tampa Bay was intrigued sufficient to convey him in as a UDFA and the elements that specify why 32 groups handed on him seven rounds in a row.
Daniels has encouraging traits. And discouraging ones alike.
Jalon Daniels’ Bodily Profile
The athletic profile from above was generated from information offered by Mockdraftables. The Bucs have proven they don’t thoughts a smaller-framed quarterback. At 6-foot-1 and 219 kilos, with 30.375-inch arms, that’s precisely what Daniels is. However his 4.65 pace reveals as a plus, however not, elite athlete. Nonetheless, the scale profile, mixed along with his willingness to make use of his mobility to his benefit units up a sturdiness query that has already popped up in his school profession. The place the scale and athleticism come collectively is in his quick-twitch playstyle.
Jalon Daniels’ Manufacturing Profile
The above manufacturing profile was generated from information offered by Professional Soccer Focus. In lots of aspects of his recreation, Daniels reveals a plus manufacturing profile. He’s prepared to push the ball down the sector as evidenced by his common depth of goal. Even with Kansas asking him to throw screens on the common, he nonetheless completed within the 81st percentile in ADOT amongst 118 FBS quarterbacks with at the very least 250 dropbacks in 2025. And his 74th percentile huge time throw charge reveals he trusts his arm to do actual work.
However turnovers plague his play. And it’s not even interceptions (31) which can be a real downside, a lot as a fumbling concern (15) that offers actual concern to what he might turn into on the NFL degree.
One different a part of his manufacturing profile I need to notice is his strain to sack charge. From 30,000 toes it appears to be like high quality (53rd percentile). However there’s nuance to the tape that indicators to me that it’ll improve dramatically if he’s given NFL snaps.
The Tape
I watched three of Jalon Daniels’ video games from 2025: Week 2 at Missouri, Week 7 at Texas Tech and Week 9 vs. Kansas State
The Highs
When contemplating each his particular person play and the standard of opponent, the Texas Tech tape was essentially the most inspiring movie Daniels put out. Towards the third-ranked Pink Raiders protection, Daniels overcame a disappointing offensive line and made some actual high-quality performs. Down 21-0 within the second quarter, he was the engine of three consecutive scoring drives, throwing two landing passes and including a area objective to chop the deficit to 4 at halftime.
That is Daniels enjoying quarterback at a excessive degree. Towards Cowl 2 he sells his curiosity within the slot hitch to get the flat nook to freeze and open up extra room to hit the honey gap on the perimeter vertical earlier than the protection can arrive. Utilizing his eyes to control coverages is what NFL quarterbacks need to do regularly. And Daniels reveals he has that ability. The throw isn’t excellent for the scenario (extra on that later) but it surely has the zip wanted to beat defenders to the catchpoint.
Submit-Snap Processing
His post-snap processing is essentially the most translatable trait on the tape, and it’s the one Zac Robinson referred to as out particularly when he mentioned Daniels “sees the game well, he processes.” Along with manipulating coverages along with his eyes and pump and shoulder fakes, he works full progressions on a number of high-difficulty ideas. He reads pre-snap blitzes and will get to sizzling solutions. Towards one of the best protection in school soccer, Kansas trusted him with the complete menu and he largely delivered.
Good job forcing the protection to open his hips and going the opposite method, however the lack of constant footwork is exhibiting up throughout Jalon Daniels’ tape. pic.twitter.com/XJ4GCyKLUW
Arm Expertise
Regardless of his smaller stature, Daniels has the arm to make the entire throws the NFL requires. What he lacks in arm size he makes up for with brief spring in his shoulder that offers him actual snap on the discharge. And when his mechanics are proper in his hips, he can add a rotational twist to present his deeper pictures or throws requiring extra velocity additional zip. He doesn’t have elite arm expertise, but it surely’s useful.
And the place the shorter arm size is useful is it offers him a fast and compact launch that he can entry from various arm angles. It was an actual asset for him at Kansas when he needed to work out of construction and on the transfer. Off-platform throws, bounce throws over a closing edge, deliveries on the transfer whereas strain converges are all on tape. Daniels is persistently higher in these conditions due to his shorter arm size.
Add actual short-area twitch and get in touch with stability, which produced a number of broken-play conversions throughout all three video games studied, and you’ve got a participant who manufactures yards when the design fails.
Earlier drive was wonderful for Daniels. Will get to this third and seven and the scheme and his learn and throw come collectively completely. Needed to be maddening (third drop on the day robbing Kansas of yards) pic.twitter.com/jdZ8yss9FX
That is the package deal Robinson is speaking about. Plus processing, plus arm energy within the moments that matter, actual idea manipulation, plus athletic conversion capability when issues break down. It’s the package deal that made Robinson “surprised he did not get drafted.”
The Lows
Zac Robinson famous that Jalon Daniels, like all rookies, wanted to wash up a number of issues. And all of it begins along with his mechanics. They’re extraordinarily inconsistent and never repeatable. Due to this the location of his passes, on routine throws and tough ones alike, can’t be counted on or taken as a right. It reveals up in his forty fifth percentile adjusted completion charge, and it reveals up on tape again and again. Easy perimeter screens at receivers’ toes. Hitch throws sailed excessive. Or slants thrown behind his goal.
If his off-placement throws had been persistently alike, like persistently crusing passes, it will level to a repeatable flaw in his mechanics. However with Daniels the inaccuracies are everywhere – like his mechanics. One factor I did discover that I feel is contributory to crusing a few of his passes is discount in his hip rotation that leads him to having his path leg fall off as an afterthought of the throwing movement. However that’s one in all many issues that might want to get tightened up and extra constant for him to take the following step.
That interception above is the clearest instance I can present. It wasn’t a pressured throw beneath strain or a hero-ball second in a desperation scenario. It was a third-and-6 from his personal 40, a clear pocket, an open receiver operating a slant in opposition to zone protection, and a throw positioned behind the receiver that allowed for the takeaway.
It wasn’t an remoted lapse. The Kansas State tape produced six clean-read, failed-execution reps in a single recreation: a big overthrow on an open deep put up, an underthrown Cowl 2 honey gap that almost produced a distinct interception, an off-back-foot throw to a wide-open receiver on a clear rollout in scoring vary, a “behind the receiver” miss on a seam vert that pressured the goal right into a mid-air twist, a wild miss to a slot fade goal, and the slant interception.
Pocket Presence and Below-Strain Choice-Making
The pocket presence query is the trait that most likely anxious scouting departments most. Throughout all three video games in opposition to three totally different competitors ranges, Daniels confirmed a constant tendency to again out of fresh pockets quite than climb them, and to flee backward quite than step up in opposition to bottom strain. Two of his sacks in opposition to Texas Tech got here on the identical wrong-direction escape. The Missouri tape ended with a self-inflicted interception cascade after he deserted a clear pocket on a desperation drive.
Strain occurs. Offensive linemen lose reps. Defensive coordinators win scheme pressures on a weekly foundation. One of many easiest, and but most complicated, elements of a quarterback’s job is to not compound unhealthy conditions into terrible ones.
And that’s the place Daniels’ recreation lacks. I’d wager early in his beginner profession Daniels was one of the best athlete on the sector. As such, he might purchase time by operating out the again of pocket earlier than discovering a lane and creating late within the play. He by no means misplaced that behavior. And in opposition to the highest collegiate competitors he discovered he was not one of the best athlete on the sector. On the NFL degree he’s going to search out out he’s barely a plus athlete. The behavior needs to be damaged.
That is the place the nuance is available in along with his pressure-to-sack numbers. From a distance you wouldn’t suppose it an issue simply wanting on the numbers. However watching him put himself into better hazard by making an attempt to create the place creation is a slim proposition and understanding that the standard of athlete he can be dealing with within the NFL is just going to get higher, I can’t assist however challenge this a part of the equation to worsen.
And then again, the place he was in a position to make use of his motion abilities to shake a would-be tackler, discover some house, and make a second response throw or run for a optimistic in school; these performs can be fewer and farther between. The negatives challenge to extend. The optimistic challenge to lower. That’s not good.
Bucs QB Jalon Daniels – Picture by: IMAGN Photos
I even have some questions on his pre-snap processing because it pertains to setting protections. Kansas’ offensive line was removed from world beaters, however there have been instances the place the strain package deal received early and I query whether or not Daniels set the safety to present him one of the best alternative for achievement post-snap. It’s a tough a part of the sport for me to guage, so transparently I may very well be off by fairly a bit right here. Nevertheless it’s a query I got here away from this watch with.
All of that is contributory to a excessive time to throw cadence of two.88 seconds on common, and 11 misplaced fumbles which drove a number of his turnover-worthy performs. If an offensive coordinator can’t belief his quarterback to restrict negatives like sacks and fumbles, that quarterback can be hard-pressed to search out the sector.
These are the considerations that I’m positive left Daniels undrafted in April.
The Longterm Outlook
Jalon Daniels is competing for a roster spot, not a beginning job. The sensible ceiling for him in Tampa Bay is a long-term backup behind Baker Mayfield in a yr or two. He’ll compete with Connor Bazelak for the QB3 spot this summer season. Whether or not that’s on the 53-man roster or the apply squad stays to be seen. However it is going to be a ceiling/flooring proposition for the Bucs with Daniels representing a better ceiling, however with a excessive diploma of variance that leans to the lows, and Bazelak a extra secure flooring as a result of he thrives as a pocket passer.
An affordable timeline is one to 2 seasons earlier than he’s really backup-ready. However there’s a number of lifting he’s going to need to do behind the scenes.
And it is going to be an amazing proof-of-concept challenge for brand spanking new quarterbacks coach Chandler Whitmer. Whitmer was a heralded rent coming off of a nationwide championship because the co-offensive coordinator and QBs coach at Indiana. If he will help develop a prepared Daniels right into a succesful backup by 2028 it is going to be a boon for him, Daniels and the Bucs.
