At LSU's pro day with the Patriots in attendance, Jayden Daniels said he wants to be a 'game-changer' - The Boston Globe

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"I'm a game-changer at the quarterback position. That's what I can bring to that franchise."

Daniels certainly appeared ready Wednesday. A whopping nine Patriots staffers — including de facto general manager Eliot Wolf, coach Jerod Mayo, and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt — were on hand. And while they ostensibly were there to see all of LSU's prospects, all eyes were on Daniels, the Heisman Trophy winner who is expected to be taken in the top three.

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Daniels threw for the 32 teams in attendance, spinning some terrific passes for teammates Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr., including some impressive deep balls at the end of the workout.

Wednesday marked the end of the on-field portion of the predraft process for Daniels.

"I think we're at that point now where this was the last kind of check-the-box routine for head coaches, GMs, those decision-makers, as to who is going to be the ones who make the [call] on the quarterback," said LSU coach Brian Kelly.

"He'll continue to work out. He'll continue to have interviews along the way. I think that the hay is in the barn, so to speak, as it relates to the evaluation process of Jayden Daniels. I think he left no stone unturned today with the performance he had out there throwing the football."

Afterward, Daniels reiterated his feelings regarding a report from early March that said he wasn't interested in playing for the Patriots.

"Whoever wants to draft me, whoever believes in me. There's stuff that I can't control. I can't control who's calling my phone on draft day," he shrugged. "Just the reporters out there, obviously, sometimes you have to call out 'cap' [slang for lying] for people, so that's what I had to do."

Daniels's electric skill set and playmaking ability were on full display last season. He finished with a 72 percent completion rate, 3,812 passing yards, 40 touchdowns, and only 4 interceptions. In addition, he had 1,134 rushing yards (8.4 per carry) and 10 rushing touchdowns. Against Florida on Nov. 11, he became the first player in FBS history to record at least 350 passing yards and 200 rushing yards in a game.

The biggest question mark continues to be about his size. Daniels checked in at 6 feet 3⅝ inches, 210 pounds. He took some big hits, including one that knocked him out of the game against Alabama. While LSU coaches and teammates praise Daniels's toughness, that level of punishment on a relatively slight body continues to be a factor for NFL decision-makers.

"There's very few questions about [whether he] can't do this or he can't do that," said Kelly. "I think it's more, 'Will he slide? Will he get down?' What I said to them was, 'You have a guy who's incredibly tough and competitive.' No one more so than the guy I saw get hit in the Alabama game, and come back the next week out of concussion protocol and set an NCAA record the next week. That, to me, speaks to his toughness.

"He's a smart guy. He's figured this thing out. That's been really the biggest question. It hasn't been about, 'Can he pick up the safety reads? Can he pick up blitz protections?' They can see that on film. It's, 'Coach, will he protect himself?' And I'm sure he will."

Talking with Daniels, it sounds like he's a work in progress when it comes to a personal protection plan.

"Towards the end of the year, I [slid] more. Well, not really sliding, but being smarter," he said. "It just comes with longevity, you know? Just knowing when the journey is over, getting out of bounds. Getting down.

"There's a lot of other things that go into it. Stuff that we argue about outside of the building. But it's on me at the end of the day."

Kelly was asked if there was anything Daniels needed to perfect if he wanted to achieve success at the next level.

"I think the NFL is all about making that next step, that transition," he said. "There's no longer the other piece, the academics. It's strictly a full-time job. So you have to be able to flip the switch and commit yourself, which he has done here like a pro in the sense of his commitment. Now you have to be able to switch yourself to 100 percent focus on the job. And sometimes that's a bit of a transition. You're on your own now, and it's 100 percent focused on the job.

"I think he's going to do just fine when it comes to the skill set and the athleticism. It's just making that transition into an NFL locker room."

Daniels was set to meet with the Patriots Wednesday night. It would be the second meeting after initially connecting at the combine. What does he want them to know about him?

"Who's going to invest in me? Who's going to believe in me?" he asked. "Kind of like what LSU did, on and off the field. As a man. And a player. They probably already did their homework. They know who I am as a person and who I am as a player. Who's going to believe in me as a man? As a quarterback? On and off the field."

Whether it's Foxborough or somewhere else, Daniels sounds good to go.

"I feel like I'll be ready. There's a learning curve for everything. I'm just ready to hear my name called. Just go in there ready to learn," he said. "It'll be a blessing, wherever I go."

Christopher Price can be reached at christopher.price@globe.com. Follow him @cpriceglobe.