At April’s NFL Draft, Caleb Williams was the consensus number one overall pick by the majority of experts and fans, but a small contingent of people threw their voices into the debate with two words.
Jayden Daniels.
The college star and 2023 Heisman Trophy winner spent the first three years of his collegiate career at Arizona State, where he became the first true freshman to start a season opener for the Sun Devils. That year, he threw for 2,943 yards and 17 touchdowns with only 2 interceptions.
His sophomore campaign was shortened to four games due to Covid, but the following year he started all 13 games, throwing for 2,381 yards and 10 TDs and rushing for 710 yards and 6 TDs. After his junior season, Daniels transferred to LSU, where he quickly made an impression on the SEC.
In his first year in Baton Rouge, Daniels led the Tigers to a 10-4 record and a spot in the SEC Championship Game while breaking records.
He set the school record for QB rushing yards (885) and rushing TDs (11) and set the team’s record for rushing and passing TDs in the same game six times, breaking Joe Burrow’s previous record of five. He also led the nation in QB rushing yards and threw for 2,913 yards with 17 TDs and 3 INTs.
The following year, in his “Super Senior Season” in 2023, Daniels added his name to the record books again.
He threw for 3,812 yards with 40 TDs and 4 INTs and was the SEC Offensive Player of the Year and First Team All-SEC. He was also a Consensus All-America, became the only player in FBS history to rush for 200 yards and pass for 350 yards in a game (234 rushing, 372 passing against Florida), joined Johnny Manziel as the only two players to pass for 3,500 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a season in SEC history, and became only the third LSU player to win the Heisman.
So while Caleb was leading in the headlines, some were pleading not to overlook Daniels too quickly.
While it’s way too early to tell who will have the better career, the start of the 2024 season is showing us that those in the latter group were right in waving the flag for Daniels.
Washington’s rookie QB has electrified a long stagnant and frustrated fanbase that suffered under the ownership and leadership of former owner Daniel Snyder.
But once the team was acquired by a group led by Harris Blitizer Sports & Entertainment head Josh Harris for $6.05 billion, these fans were recharged.
Magic Johnson was added to the ownership group, and a new coaching staff was hired, showing fans that the team was headed in a new direction. All it needed was a franchise player to be the face of the team.
Enter second overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, Jayden Daniels.
This season, Daniels has electrified fans with his arm and legs, showing a maturity not expected in young quarterbacks.
But Daniels had five years of college ball under his belt, including two in the SEC, so he had time to develop through, arguably, the most competitive conference in the country.
While the team started the 2024 season with a 37-20 loss to the Bucs, fans had reason to smile as Daniels displayed flashes of his talent.
And over the last four weeks, that smile has grown as Daniels has led the Commanders to a 4-0 record.
During this win streak, he’s averaged 237.8 yards passing, completed a ridiculous 78.3% of his passes and has 4 TDs and 2 INTs. He’s also averaged 53 yards rushing and has 2 TDs on the ground.
While the stats aren’t Hall of Fame worthy, his play and leadership have given fans more confidence and belief that management made the right choice in the Draft.
He’s leading the team on the field and players are responding. He’s also brought excitement back to Northwest Stadium, where the frustrations of the past have started to fade just like the previous FedEx Field title.
After Sunday’s beatdown of Cleveland, the Commanders have scored 155 points and, per NFL.com, made Washington the “first team in the Super Bowl era to score at least 150 points in their first five games of the season while starting a rookie quarterback.”
NFL.com also noted that Daniels became the “first player in NFL history to pass for at least 1,000 yards and rush for at least 250 in his first five career games.”
The Commanders are averaging 3.37 points per possession so far this season, which puts them in great company. The only other teams to average more are the 2000 Rams and 2013 Broncos.
While Daniels isn’t setting passing records on fire (he’s thrown interceptions in back-to-back games as well), he has led the Commanders to four straight wins.
Some are mentioning his name in MVP conversations. That might be a little premature, but if he continues to mature and perform, those mentions will grow in volume.
Daniels also has history on his side.
The 2000 Rams and 2013 Broncos both had league MVPs on the team in Marshall Faulk and Peyton Manning, so Daniels is in great company as he continues the great start to his rookie NFL season.
