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Jayden Daniels ‘earned’ right to start for Washington Commanders in preseason opener
Published:
Jayden Daniels is QB1 in Washington.
Unofficially.
The Commanders released their first depth chart of the season on Tuesday ahead of their preseason opener this weekend, and the former LSU quarterback was named the starter ahead of Marcus Mariota. Former Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel is the No. 3 while Sam Hartman, an undrafted rookie from Notre Dame, held the No. 4 spot.
The depth chart is not considered official until the 53-man roster is set for the new season. Nonetheless, Daniels was the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and it seems the Commanders will waste no time getting him onto the field. First-year head coach Dan Quinn has slow-played the process, preferring to let Daniels work toward the title rather than having it handed to him.
On Tuesday, Quinn said the rookie has earned the right to be the starter.
“Through the course of all the practices, you’re keeping track of accuracy and completions and decisions of where it goes. It was really a byproduct of him really nailing those moments,” Quinn said. “Like I said, we’re just going through the whole process, but it’s good to see when there’s markers set, you get that one. Then you get to the next one and you get to the next one. The good news is Jayden and Brandon (Coleman) and Mike Sainristil and others, they’re the type of competitors that want to go after things. So for them, having some markers to go after, I think that’s a really good thing because that really suits their personality and their competitive nature, as well.”
Specifically for the first preseason game, Quinn said he wouldn’t describe the quarterback plan as “free-flowing,” rather that Washington would try to get work for all 4 quarterbacks. Daniels will likely see his reps limited in the Commanders’ preseason games.
On Sunday, he said he has work to do and he’s firmly on board with the way Washington has gone about this quarterback competition.
“I’ve still got some ways to go,” Daniels said. “Just little stuff. It’s their decision and I trust them fully. For me, I just go out there and (think), how can I better myself every day? And compete hard.”
The former Heisman Trophy winner rewrote record books at the college level. In 55 career games, he became the only player in FBS history to pass for 12,000 yards and run for 3,000 yards.
Despite starting just 26 games for LSU, Daniels left the program No. 2 all-time in touchdowns responsible for (79) and No. 3 all-time in total offense. He took the career and single-season program records for rushing yards by a quarterback and became the first FBS player in history to throw for 350 yards and run for 200 yards in a game.
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When he transferred from Arizona State ahead of the 2022 season, few expected Daniels would be able to author the kind of season he did in 2023. He posted sub-70 QBRs in 2 of his 3 seasons starting for Arizona State.
But LSU coach Brian Kelly spoke glowingly last fall of the work Daniels did to improve his game. He relentlessly attacked the areas LSU’s staff identified.
Quinn has seen the same in Washington.
“I had high expectations for him coming in, but I would say he’s definitely surpassed even my expectations of the readiness, the command,” Quinn said. “I knew he was gonna be cool, knowing the system. He’s just got that way about him. You do see the other players gravitate toward him. They recognize how hard he’s worked at it.”
Though Washington has been slow to hand the keys of the franchise over to Daniels, the expectation is that he will start. And that has been the case since the Commanders drafted him. He has the second-shortest odds of anyone to win Offensive Rookie of the Year (+650 at bet365) and he’s +300 to lead all rookies in passing yards in 2024.
Daniels and Washington will make their preseason debut on Saturday against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. That game is set to kick off at 12 p.m. ET.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
