Jalon Daniels Compares to Former NFL QB Rodney Peete

I’ve evaluated Kansas quarterback (QB) Jalon Daniels for three seasons.

⎯ 32 games total.

What’s with the Rodney Peete comparison?

That’s who Daniels reminds me of every time I have sat down to evaluate him.

Peete was a sixth-round draft choice (6-foot-0, 230 pounds) by the Lions out of USC in 1999. He played for 15 years, appearing in 104 games and starting 87 of them.

That’s the kind of NFL career trajectory I see for Daniels, who has earned my respect. I’ve liked him since I first began studying his game film in 2022, as he’s battled through injuries and various inconsistencies.

In 2025, Daniels bounced back and played the entire season.

Another thing I like about Daniels is his leadership. Daniels sacrifices his body for his team on running plays, and he’ll stare down the barrel of the pass rush until the last second before firing. Bruce Feldman, a reporter for The Athletic, posted on X, calling Daniels, “One of the most impressive people I’ve ever covered.“

Leadership was another thing Peete was known for, according to Harvard University.

Leads the offense with rhythm and tempo

A quarterback is like a drummer in a band, and the offense feeds off the quarterback’s timing (for better or for worse).

Daniels brings a steady and methodical ball control pace.

Mature quarterback skill set

• Able to escape pressure
• Can quickly make one (and usually) two reads (Pro Football Focus 2025 Time to Throw 2.87 seconds)
• Showed patience in the pocket
• Eyes downfield
• Strong arm
• Above-average throwing instincts that aren’t dependent on footwork
• Will throw the ball away to avoid sacks and yardage losses
• Works the whole field
• Aggressively attacks secondaries
• Ball security (16 pass breakups, 1.45 average per game)
• Can turn nothing into something
• Ran an offense with a lot of motion

I really like his ability to set and reset the pocket

Daniels possesses the high-level ability to keep defenses guessing about where he’s going to throw until the last possible second, thanks to how he moves around.

What’s holding him back?

• Erratic footwork when throwing
• Questionable reading defenses at times
• Sporadic bad decisions
• Deep accuracy (I charted throws +20 air yards 20/52 (38.5%)

NFL’s short-to intermediate passing game (0-19 yards)

Daniels fits this perfectly into today’s play scripting at the next level.

He runs an athletic and quick screen game, and he has shown he can put passes at the intermediate route level on a rope.

Winner, winner chicken dinner.

#6 Jalon Daniels 6-foot-0, 220 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s Final 2026 NFL Draft Grade: Third-Round (I would select him)

(M) Medical Risk

* CBS Sports: Missed four games in 2022 shoulder injury and missed 10 games in 2023 due to a back injury

* ESPN: February 2025 minor knee surgery

Projected by NFL Mock Draft Database to be an UDFA prospect as of December 25, 2025

49ers’ Scouts Need to Watch Kansas QB Jalon Daniels (2022: 4 games evaluated)

Kansas QB Jalon Daniels-Grade Drops to Third Round (2022: 4 games evaluated)

There’s One Big Question With QB Jalon Daniels (2023: 2 games evaluated)

Kansas QB Jalon Daniels Bounces Back with a New Concern (2024: 11 games evaluated)

2025 game film evaluated: Fresno, Wagner, Missouri, West Virginia, Cincinnati, UCF, Texas Tech, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Arizona, and Utah (click to view games watched to form this evaluation)

Good fit: 49ers

Four-time captain

2025: 198/319 (62.1%), for 2,531 yards, 22 TD, 7 INT (117 carries)

2026 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Fierce competitor. Strong athletic build. Legit dual role. Even-kneeded nature. Perseveres. Confidence can waver. Efficient. Convincing play-action and misdirection movements. Knows where to go with the ball pre-snap. Inconsistent release times. Poised in a muddied pocket. Inconsistent footwork when throwing. Lower base tends to narrow. Can torque his body and/or lift his back foot when throwing. Relies more upon arm strength. Misses tend to sail or be overthrown. Can put touch on passes. Will take checkdowns. Legit runner who can make a man miss. Showed stiff-arm. Above-average playing speed. Absorbs a lot of hits. Above-average clutch gene.

Final words

Daniels will be an NFL backup and spot starter.

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock, and has written for Sports Illustrated (Lions, Jets, and 49ers), NFL Draft Diamonds, and Yardbarker, as well as a featured guest on ESPN Radio and Fox Sports Radio. Featured in USA Today. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. Follow on Twitter @firstroundmock.