Jayden Daniels might’ve been blessed with a sleek pair of wheels, but he’s not a running quarterback—he’s already one of the NFL’s best dropback passers.
There’s a natural propensity to identify unique qualities as a person’s defining characteristic. For Daniels, the Washington Commanders’ leading rusher in 2024, that would be his elite speed and slippery dance moves in the open field.
The 24-year-old is much more than the legs that separate him from the people reading this article. He’s the complete package, and the football world is now facing its worst feat: It let the only perennially dominant NFC quarterback loose in the nation’s capital.
Defying modern logic
Daniels’ extraordinary rookie season saw him throw for 3,568 yards, 25 touchdowns, and nine interceptions while completing 69 percent of his passes. He tacked on another 891 yards and six TDs on the ground as the Commanders went 12-5 en route to an appearance in the NFC Championship Game.
One of the early criticisms of Daniels—and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury—was that he could only excel in a college-style, close-to-the-line-of-scrimmage offense.
That couldn’t be further from the truth. Among truly elite quarterbacks such as Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, MVP Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and the rest of the league, Daniels finished second in Pro Football Focus’ grading on “intermediate” passes of 10-19 yards. He went 83-125 (66.4 completion percentage) for 12 touchdowns, three interceptions, and 10.3 yards per attempt on these throws, ranking only behind Jackson.
Even more impressively, Daniels posted those numbers despite his receivers dropping 11.7 percent of balls thrown their way. PFF gave him an adjusted intermediate passing completion percentage of 75.2, also second to Jackson, and he tied for second in intermediate passing touchdowns with 12.
When given a clean pocket, Daniels finished as the sixth highest-ranked quarterback in PFF’s catch-all passing grade. Only Jackson, Burrow, Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts, and Allen were ahead of him.
The Commanders also did a terrific job of using Daniels’ running ability to set up other looks. The rookie phenom ranked third in play-action passing grade while also dealing with the highest drop percentage in the league (9.6).
Call me when you need me
It’s easy to forget how consistently Daniels made the “right play” when he finished seemingly every other game with a fourth-quarter comeback.
Inexperience and all, he finished a respectable 12th in on-target throw percentage, with seven of the players above him averaging the same or more time in the pocket per dropback.
Including the regular season and playoffs, Washington’s cornerstone piece was also sixth in EPA per play at .202.
He still found a way to improve upon that in his first taste of the NFL postseason, averaging .261 EPA per play while facing three rosters that were significantly better than his own.
Still, that doesn’t do Daniels justice. On third and fourth down across the first 18 weeks and playoffs, Daniels added an estimated .379 points per play (third) to his team’s total. Only Allen and Jared Goff were better.
When the money was on the table in the fourth quarter and overtime, he was seventh in EPA per play at .297.
The kid gave a lot of material to gush over.
Jayden Daniels: Lights, camera, action
The Commanders understand they are in their Super Bowl window. Concerns about the age and diminishing production of their trade acquisitions aside, the front office’s ability to plug holes in the roster meant that they closed the gap on the Philadelphia Eagles, who lost key starters such as Milton Williams and Darius Slay.
The question now turns to if this version of the Commanders has what it takes to compete with teams with more talent overall, but less at the quarterback position. That includes Philly, the Minnesota Vikings, the Detroit Lions, the Los Angeles Rams, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Daniels’ composure and commitment to improvement suggest that he’s less likely to suffer a sophomore slump than someone such as C.J. Stroud.
It’s also important to note that Stroud was the victim of a disappointing offensive line and a plethora of wide receiver injuries. The Commanders smartly invested in both groups this offseason with acquisitions such as Deebo Samuel and first-round tackle Josh Conerly Jr.
The Commanders are only 19th in strength of schedule entering 2025—not easy, but much better than it could’ve been.
Washington can’t afford to depend on late-game theatrics and all-time fourth-down efficiency to win games again. What they can depend on, however, is the developed version of Daniels, who demonstrated very few weaknesses and the innate abilities to lead and adapt to circumstances.
The bottom line is this: Jayden Daniels is much more than a rookie who had a “nice year,” a running quarterback, or any other muted moniker. He’s already an elite thrower of the football that also happens to be capable of rushing for 1,000 yards in a season, and he’s got an improved team around him.
Alert the presses. There’s a bad man in charge of the capital brigade.
