Well isn’t that interesting. Malik Nabers and Jayden Daniels accomplished a lot together with the LSU Tigers this season, and now they’re both locked in the first-round conversation as the 2024 NFL draft draws closer.
And it’s safe to say that many New Orleans Saints fans (including the always-vocal LSU contingent) wouldn’t mind seeing one of them in black and gold. Or maybe both. Nabers and Daniels were working out together Saturday and took a break to field questions from fans following Nabers’ social media channels. When asked whether the two of them were a package deal, well, let’s let Nabers speak for himself.
“I’m not going to the Saints,” Nabers said matter-of-factly on the live broadcast, in a video captured by viewers, suggesting that’s exactly where Daniels is headed.
Nabers is likely just joking around, but you never know. It would make a lot of sense for the Saints college scouting department to be keeping an eye on the Heisman Trophy winner in their own backyard. The organization always sends a crowd to LSU’s pro day and often meets with prospects coming out of Baton Rouge ahead of the draft, though few Tigers have ultimately landed with New Orleans through the draft.
The list of LSU stars-turned-Saints is brief: the team picked offensive lineman Will Clapp in the seventh round in 2018, but before that you have to back to 2010 when they selected defensive tackle Al Woods in the fourth round. Wide receiver Devery Henderson was their pick in 2004’s second round. Mickey Loomis has called in hundreds of draft picks since he was hired as general manager in 2002, but those are the only three players from LSU’s taken.
And the Saints haven’t drafted a quarterback in the first round since they picked Archie Manning in 1971. So if Daniels does end up in New Orleans, well: his arrival would break a lot of trends the organization has established. Not to mention it would herald the end of Derek Carr’s time in town, even if the Saints can’t get out of his contract until 2025.
But with so much uncertainty surrounding the team right now (not helped by Carr’s poor performance under center), we can’t rule anything out. If the Saints are making their interest in Daniels so well-known that his teammates can openly joke about it, well — isn’t that interesting?
