Washington Commanders rookie Jayden Daniels clearly knows how to handle himself.
There is such a fine line between confidence and arrogance, especially when it comes to athletes.
Some would say a bit of arrogance is needed to make it as an elite athlete, especially in the NFL, but one also has to remain humble enough and remind oneself that he still has lots of room for improvement, no matter how great he may already be.
The Commanders could have a legitimate franchise quarterback in Daniels, the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft. The Louisiana State University product has given long-suffering Washington fans hope that perhaps their team is finally on the right track after about three decades of ineptitude.
But Daniels knows that he has a long way to go before he could be called a savior.
One reporter asked him what it’s like being the “star quarterback” in the D.C. market, and he responded by saying, “I ain’t a star quarterback yet, I got a long way to go. I’m a rookie.”
Is Jayden Daniels the long-term answer for the Commanders?
There is always a chance that Daniels will turn out to be a bust and Washington will be sent back to square one. But he seems to be a mighty impressive prospect, and in most other years, he would’ve likely been the No. 1 player chosen in the draft and been considered the best incoming rookie.
In 2023, he threw for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns while completing 72.2 percent of his pass attempts. He won several individual awards, including the Walter Camp Award, the Manning Award, the AP College Football Player of the Year award and the Heisman Trophy.
Daniels also added 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground, and his 208.0 passer rating set a single-season NCAA record.
While the Commanders were a very poor team and finished with a 4-13 record last year, they aren’t totally bereft of talent at the offensive skill positions. They have wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who has been one of the more underrated players at his position over the last few years. In 2023, he caught 79 passes and posted 1,002 yards and four touchdowns, making it the fourth straight year in which he went over the 1,000-yard mark.
Washington also brought in dual-threat running Austin Ekeler, who is equally adept at catching passes as he is at moving the chains on the ground. As recently as 2022, he ran for 915 yards and added 722 yards in the air while scoring a league-high 18 total touchdowns from scrimmage.
This setup should help Jayden Daniels become the star the Commanders desperately need at QB.
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