It’s easy to get blinded by the numbers when it comes to wide receivers. All too often we get enamored with the height – weight – speed freaks and get lost down the rabbit hole of what they could be.
And in doing so, there can be a tendency to let skilled players with good, but not great, traits fade into the background. Miami wide receiver CJ Daniels could well fall into that category, sporting traits that are good, but not quite great enough to make scouts drool. However, will his skill set and how he uses those traits make up for it?
The New York Giants could be in great need of a wide receiver in 2026, but may be in search of a draft gem at the position if they pass on one at the top of the draft. Could a technician like Daniels be an under-the-radar find to help build around Jaxson Dart?
Prospect: CJ Daniels (7)
Games Watched: vs. Notre Dame (2025), vs. USF (2025), vs. Florida (2025), vs. Louisville (2025)
Red Flags: Knee/lower leg (2024)
Measurables
Height: 6-foot-1 (unofficial)
Weight: 200 (unofficial)
Strengths
Best traits
- Quickness
- Agility
- Route running
- Body control
- Ball skills
- Blocking
- Competitive toughness
CJ Daniels is a well-rounded wide receiver with a solid blend of size, athleticism, ball skills, and football IQ.
Daniels has surprisingly good agility and short-area quickness which he couples with savvy route running. He has a very fluid lower body, allowing him to drop his hips and quickly change direction. Daniels is very quick in and out of his breaks and also understands how to manipulate his route stems to set up defenders and create separation out of his breaks.
He does a very good job of locating the ball in the air, making good adjustments, and extending to pluck the ball out of the air. Daniels is a natural hands catcher who uses great body control to make high-difficulty catches.
His quickness and agility allows him to create quick yards after the catch, turning a sliver of daylight into additional yards.
Daniels also understands how to play without the ball. He understands how to use his routes as part of a route concept to create conflict in the secondary. Likewise, he’s a willing – and legitimately good – blocker who was often used as a move blocker by Miami’s offense. He was frequently put in pre-snap motion to change the blocking math on the play side, and trusted to lay key blocks in the running game. Daniels also looks for work and is completely willing to get his hands dirty blocking for his teammates in run-after-catch situations.
Weaknesses
Worst traits
- Long speed
- Aggressiveness at the catch point
There are few real weaknesses in Daniels’ game, though there are a couple limitations that can allow other receivers to overshadow him.
To start, Daniels is a good athlete, but not a great one. He lacks the elite long speed and explosiveness necessary to be a consistent big play threat. He’s very quick out of his breaks, but doesn’t appear to have the extra gear necessary to fully capitalize on his separation. Likewise, he doesn’t quite have the speed to outrun or pull away from cornerbacks on vertical routes.
Daniels could also stand to be more aggressive at the catch point. He does a great job of locating, tracking, and adjusting to the ball, but doesn’t use his size and play strength to work back to the ball. That can lead to opportunities for defenders to make a play on the ball, or for the pass to be disrupted by hits as he makes the catch.
Game Tape
(CJ Daniels is the Miami wide receiver wearing number 7 with a white band on his left arm.)
Projection
CJ Daniels projects as a second or third receiver, with the highest ceiling being in a West Coast offense.
Most offenses could use Daniels as a possession receiver, however his savvy route running and ability to generate separation and yards after the catch would shine in an offense that’s based in West Coast principles. Likewise, he would be valuable for offenses that use a high rate of screen passes – both as a blocker and a ball carrier.
All told, Daniels is more than the sum of his parts, and he can be overshadowed by more exciting receivers like Miami’s freshman phenom Malachi Toney. However, he is dependable and has the traits to be a player more in the mold of Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, or Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Does he fit the Giants? Yes
Final Word: A second round value
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