Jayden Daniels isn’t making any big claims about his NFL debut. The 2023 Heisman Trophy winner and No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road this Sunday, marking the start of a new era for the Washington Commanders.
“It’s going to be a challenge, obviously,” said Daniels, who has met all of new coach Dan Quinn’s expectations — and perhaps exceeded them — in learning the offense and building strong connections with his teammates.
“I got a great foundation base. Obviously it’ll be tweaked week to week,” the former LSU star said. “It’s not going to be a final product.”
Tampa Bay’s defense has a strong history of performing well against rookie quarterbacks, especially under Todd Bowles, who is starting his third season as head coach of the Bucs. Bowles was the defensive coordinator for the previous three years under former coach Bruce Arians.
Bowles continues to call defensive plays and uses a range of defensive schemes and blitzes to challenge and disrupt quarterbacks, whether they are experienced or new.
Since Bowles began coaching the Bucs in 2019, they have a 10-5 record against rookie quarterbacks. In those games, they are 1-2 against QBs making their first career starts — losing to Daniel Jones (Giants, 2019) and Brock Purdy (49ers, 2022), but defeating Trace McSorley (Cardinals, 2022).
The Bucs, who allowed another No. 2 overall draft pick — Houston’s C.J. Stroud — to set a rookie single-game record with 470 yards and five touchdowns during a loss to the Texans last season, are impressed by Daniels.
“He looks like the real deal,” All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. said.
“Any time you face a dual-threat quarterback, it’s going to be a problem. He can beat you with his legs or his arm,” Bowles added. “He was taken that high for a reason. He’s very accurate, very calm in the pocket, and has a good grasp of the offense. … It’s going to be tough trying to keep him in the pocket and cover those guys.”
The Commanders believe Daniels is prepared for the challenge.
