Many familiar faces found themselves in new places across the NFL on Sunday, as a fresh wave of Tigers kicked off their professional careers.
Here’s a look at how some of the best LSU players from the Class of 2024 performed in their NFL debut during week one.
Jayden Daniels
The Washington Commanders took former Tiger and Heisman winner Jayden Daniels with the second pick in the 2024 draft. Daniels totaled over 8,700 yards and 78 touchdowns during his time at LSU and hopes to bring that same elite dual-threat ability to the NFL.
His career began on the road in Tampa Bay, where he faced the Buccaneers, a playoff team from last year with a solid offense and an emerging young defense.
The Commanders fell short to the Buccaneers 37-20, but Daniels showed what he has been doing his whole career.
In his first career game, he completed 17 of his 24 passes for 184 yards with no passing touchdowns. However, the use of his legs is where he can be the most dangerous, as Daniels ran for 88 yards and two rushing touchdowns on 16 carries.
For a debut, it’s what you’d expect from a rookie quarterback going up against a good, aggressive defense.
He did have some ugly moments, including throwing the ball backward on his first career pass and fumbling three times, but those are rookie growing pains that will improve over time and be corrected.
The passing game was simplified for Daniels. He took the open routes and gave the ball to his playmakers underneath. He failed to connect with top target Terry McLaurin on a couple of deep passes down the field and threw it a couple of times in traffic that could’ve been dangerous.
But his decision-making was still good, especially under pressure. Any time Tampa Bay brought a blitz or went through with pressure, Daniels ran multiple times to extend plays and drives.
As time goes on, the missed throws and the ball security will improve. He will continue to build chemistry with his weapons and be the Jayden Daniels we saw a season ago, but right now he’s not off to a bad start.
Malik Nabers
The New York Giants selected receiver Malik Nabers as the sixth pick in the 2024 draft, making him the second Tiger chosen.
After a record-breaking season, Nabers has solidified himself as one of the greatest wide receivers in LSU history. It’s a new chapter for Nabers, as he began his NFL career on Sunday against the Vikings.
Playing against former LSU superstar and one of the best receivers in the league, Justin Jefferson, it was time to see what another LSU product could do on the field.
It was a disappointing game for the Giants, as they lost 28-6, while failing to score a single touchdown.
It was clear that the Giants’ offense struggled to move the ball. Quarterback Daniel Jones was sacked five times, threw two interceptions and only completed 52% of his passes. Nabers didn’t score but was still productive.
On seven targets, Nabers hauled in five receptions for 66 yards, leading the team in receiving yards. The Giants did a lot to get Nabers involved, as they used motion and lined him up all over the field from the slot to the outside. Most of his production came over the middle, catching multiple slants and in routes.
With a team that has been struggling the past couple of seasons moving the football, there will be frustrating times like this for Nabers. However, if he can make the most of his targets and continue to put up consistent numbers, he will have no problem going forward.
Nabers’ counterpart Jefferson reached the end zone for the Vikings on four receptions for 59 yards. The two even shared a moment at the end of the game, and certainly, Jefferson had some words of encouragement for Nabers as he continues to improve over his career.
Brian Thomas Jr.
The Jaguars took Brian Thomas Jr. with the No. 31 pick in the draft in hopes of bringing another weapon to the offense.
Thomas led the team in touchdowns last season at LSU, scoring 17. He also added 1,177 yards to his stat sheet to cap off a dynamic season for the Tigers.
The Jaguars ended up losing to the Dolphins in the season opener 20-17 on a game-winning field goal as time expired.
Thomas’ first game went well. He finished the game with four receptions for 47 yards and a touchdown that came on a nice toe-drag catch in the back of the endzone for 14 yards.
Thomas caught every target that went his way and even forced a pass interference call against star corner Jalen Ramsey to put them on the one-yard line.
Coming into the season, the Jaguars needed to find a new receiver with the departure of Calvin Ridley, who had over 1,000 yards the prior season.
They brought in former Buffalo Bills receiver Gabe Davis and drafted Thomas. But Thomas could be emerging as quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s new favorite target.
Thomas finished the game leading the team with receptions and was the only receiver to reach the end zone.
The mixture of speed and physicality that Thomas brings gives him a lot of versatility on the field. He caught passes on short routes to get him in space and make a play after the catch, he took the top off running deep routes and used his tremendous speed to push the ball down the field.
With him finding his way to the endzone, there could be more targets for Thomas when the Jaguars get in the red zone.
