Jayden Daniels threw 1,438 passes over 55 college games in five seasons. He’s no ordinary rookie because of the experience he gained playing a lot of football before coming to the NFL.
Bo Nix, who started for five years at Auburn and Oregon, is in the same situation.
Both quarterbacks led their teams to the playoffs and are among the five finalists for the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
Daniels Leads Washington to NFC Championship
Daniels has the Washington Commanders in their first NFC Championship game in 33 years. They’ve already upset the Buccaneers and the No. 1 seed Lions on the road, and now, they can reach the Super Bowl with a win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
Nix Ends Broncos’ Playoff Drought
Nix helped the Denver Broncos break an eight-year playoff drought, though they lost to the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card round.
Impact of College Experience
Daniels and Nix made an immediate impact in the NFL due to their extensive college experience as starters for four or more years.
“It helped out a lot, just to be able to see different looks, see different defenses, go through a lot of different things,” Daniels shared with The Associated Press. “The greatest teacher in life is failure so to be able to go out there, fail a couple times, get some reps… All those reps that built up helped me get to this moment today.”
Daniels’ College Career and Heisman Win
Daniels played three seasons at Arizona State before transferring to LSU for his final two years. In 2023, he won the Heisman Trophy and was selected No. 2 overall, behind Caleb Williams.
Eli Manning Praises Daniels
Two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning praised Daniels for his ability to win playoff games as a rookie. “A rookie quarterback coming in and winning playoff games, I think that’s one of the hardest things to do in the NFL in your first playoff experience,” Manning said. “To go out there and win two of them is pretty impressive.”
Manning also highlighted Daniels’ composure. “Jayden has been impressive with what he’s been able to do, getting the ball out on time when he has to, be able to extend plays and scramble and run when he has to.
So it just seems like he’s got a great control of that offense and making big plays at critical moments. It just doesn’t seem like the environment or the situation is too big for him. He seems very calm, very relaxed, and I think that’s because he feels confident in what he’s doing out there and what he expects to happen.”
Daniels’ Poise in Clutch Moments
Daniels has thrown a touchdown pass in the final 30 seconds or overtime in five games this season, showing poise that is uncommon for most rookies.
“That’s just second nature, part of who I am every day,” Daniels said. “I’m consistent every day. When I prepare for moments like that, I’m not thinking at all. I’m just going out there and reacting and just playing football.”
Nix’s College Journey and Transition to NFL
Nix played three seasons at Auburn before finishing his college career at Oregon. He threw 1,936 passes during his college career and was selected by the Broncos with the 12th overall pick. Nix didn’t disappoint in his rookie year and helped Denver turn things around after the release of Russell Wilson.
“I was fortunate to play in five offenses in five years in college, so the transition and the new verbiage was just something else that I had to learn,” Nix told The Associated Press. “I’d run a lot of different plays in the past so I just had to connect the dots and put them together and match the word with the play.”
Learning from College to NFL
Nix’s experience learning different offensive systems in college helped him make a smooth transition to the NFL under coach Sean Payton.
“Ultimately, that’s developed me and helped me learn and grow and learn how to process different things and learn how to process different play-calls and different play-callers,” he said. “It’s important to have a rhythm with your play-caller and to understand what he wants and it takes time to get that connection. I felt as the season went on we had a great offensive play-caller-quarterback connection.”
Manning on College Offenses
Manning, who played at Ole Miss from 2000-03, noted that college offenses are now more similar to pro offenses than when he played. “The more reps you get, the more defenses you see, the more experience you get with learning an offense,” Manning said.
“The college offensive systems in the NFL and college offensive systems aren’t that different anymore. It doesn’t take necessarily years. It’s just kind of learning about defenses, learning about different blitzes.”
