Jayden Daniels believes he’s capable of starting in the NFL, but he acknowledges he’s not ready at this moment because he’s still learning the playbook.
Given time to study and understand the playbook, Daniels could become Washington’s quarterback in the future. This is the belief held by team ownership, the front office, and the coaching staff, especially after drafting him as the second pick from LSU.
Daniels represents the latest hope for Washington to find a long-term solution at the quarterback position, which has been a challenge for the organization for longer than Daniels has been alive.
General manager Adam Peters is confident that Daniels’ journey has prepared him to be a franchise quarterback. Daniels himself feels no pressure, considering what he has faced both on and off the field in his life.
To Daniels, football is enjoyable and serves as an escape from everyday life. He approaches each day with this mindset.
Over the past nearly two decades, Washington has had 20 different starting quarterbacks and hasn’t won a playoff game during this time. When either Daniels or the veteran Marcus Mariota takes the field in September, they will be the team’s eighth different Week 1 starter in as many seasons.
No one is ready to say for sure that Daniels will be the one, especially since he just arrived from the draft in Detroit.
Josh Harris, the owner, is leaving the decision to Adam Peters and the new coach, Dan Quinn. They’re not making any firm decisions just yet, especially since it’s only late April.
“We’ll see how it all plays out,” Quinn said. He believes they have a strong group of quarterbacks with Daniels, Mariota, and Jeff Driskel.
The focus right now is on building a competitive team. When Daniels is ready, they’ll make the decision. But there’s no rush.
Under the new leadership of Harris, Peters, and Quinn, the Commanders are in a rebuilding phase and not expecting immediate success. For them, it’s more about Daniels growing into a great player than expecting him to be one right from the start.
Despite having an impressive final season in college, where he led the nation in total yards, the 23-year-old from San Bernardino, California, knows there’s still room for improvement.
