With The First Pick
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Gil Brandt says Daniel Jones and Peyton Manning are ‘the same guy’

By Bryan Perez

SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 24: Daniel Jones #17 of the Duke Blue Devils drops back to pass during the first half of a game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium on September 24, 2016 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 24: Daniel Jones #17 of the Duke Blue Devils drops back to pass during the first half of a game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium on September 24, 2016 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
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Former Duke QB Daniel Jones received high praise from long-time NFL personnel executive and recent Hall-of-Fame inductee, Gil Brandt.

The hype surrounding Duke QB Daniel Jones is very real, and whether NFL draft analysts want to admit it or not, the 2019 Senior Bowl MVP is going to be a first-round pick. In fact, he could end up as the second quarterback drafted in this year’s class.

Jones is far from a perfect prospect, and no one who’s studied his tape would confuse him for one. But few quarterbacks enter the NFL with a perfect tag, including one of the greatest, if not the greatest of all-time, Peyton Manning.

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According to Hall-of-Fame personnel executive and current Sirius XM NFL Radio host Gil Brandt, Jones and Manning are more similar than they are different.

“I. Love. Dan Jones,” Brandt said, according to Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com. “I have to say this carefully: When you watch him and you go back (20) years and watch Peyton Manning, you are watching the same guy. He’s athletic. He doesn’t have a rocket for an arm, but neither did Peyton. Very smart.”

Brandt isn’t alone in his praise for Jones. NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah recently mocked Jones to the New York Giants at No. 6 overall.

“When you watch Jones play and the things he does, I think he can play an efficient game (for) a team that’s going to build around his defense going forward,” Jeremiah said. “I think you’ll see that with the Giants. We’ve seen it reflected in the Odell Beckham trade. I think the more conservative, efficient approach offensively, that to me fits with Daniel Jones’ style.”

Brandt thinks Jones plays like a Manning, and Jeremiah thinks he’ll eventually replace one. That’s high praise, no matter how you spin it, for a prospect who’s had more critics than fans in draft media throughout the last several months.

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