Luke Easterling talks Drake Maye vs. Jayden Daniels ahead of NFL Draft with Kevin Sheehan

Caleb Williams is in a tier of his own for NFL Draft analyst Luke Easterling – who expects the USC quarterback to go first overall next Thursday at the 2024 NFL Draft. But he tells Kevin Sheehan that just below him is the pair of Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye, who "bring different things to the table" but represent the clear next-best quarterbacks in the draft.

On Maye, Easterling told Sheehan he thinks he is "a little bit better of a pocket passer. He's still a good athlete, he can make plays outside of the pocket, pick-up extra yards when you need him to, he can maneuver within the pocket."

On the other hand, "Jayden Daniels made huge strides as a pocket passer last year, got a lot better than we had seen him and obviously he's just got elite, game-breaking speed. I mean that's the kinda stuff that keeps defensive coordinators awake at night."

So, depending on what you like, Easterling said, "those two guys are really 2A and 2B for me and then I think there's a decent gap after that. The next guy is Michael Penix Jr. for me."

Easterling believes JJ McCarthy is likely to be picked ahead of Penix Jr., but he thinks the Washington quarterback is the better prospect as the fourth beest passer.

But who will Washington take at No. 2 overall? "I think they will take Daniels," Easterling told Sheehan. "And I think I would, too."

"When you compare both of these guys, they're not perfect, they both have moments where you can see there's still some growth to be had there. But Jayden Daniels he's a very experienced quarterback," he said of the five-year college starter. "...He's played a lot of football and I feel like the jump that he made as a passer over the last season that he was in college, very similar, in my opinion, to the growth we saw from Lamar Jackson the last year he was at Louisville to where he grew so much as a passer not just from rolling out and making plays on the move, but doing it from the pocket, making tight-window throws, making those deep ball throws."

He added: "With the growth he made as a passer and with the absolute game-breaking ability that he brings as a runner, I think that's just what gives him the edge for me and I think that's what will give him the edge for Washington."

The concern on Daniels will be the frame, he is rather slender and doesn't have too much weight on his 6-foot-4 frame. And there is a level of concern that his big jump last year could have been his high and he could regress to the mean of his previous years in college.

The conversation continues from there, make sure to hit the audio player above to get into why Maye is not the guy for Washington at No. 2 in Easterling's eyes.