Commanders name Jayden Daniels starting quarterback…
No. 2 overall pick and 2023 Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels will be the Washington Commanders’ starter for the 2024 season, head coach Dan Quinn announced Monday afternoon.
Daniels, who completed 10-of-12 passes for 78 yards during the Commanders’ preseason game against the Miami Dolphins, has earned the opportunity to lead Washington’s offense after weeks of confirming what the staff already believed about his skill set. He is set to make his regular-season debut against the Tamp Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 8.
“I thought he had another really good outing,” coach Dan Quinn said after the Commanders’ preseason game against the Dolphins. “The accuracy, the decision-making of where to go. He really is a unique competitor.”
Quinn said at the start of training camp that the decisions made about Daniels’ playing time were not a secret but a journey. The team has been intentional with his workload and snap count, starting with the move to have him behind veteran Marcus Mariota until he was ready for the next steps in his progression.
As Daniels went through camp, it became clear that him being named the starter was more an inevitability than a possible outcome. Through the first three weeks of camp, Daniels flaunted many of the traits that convinced Washington to take him in the first round, from his ball placement and accuracy to his work ethic that drives him to be the first player at the facility.
Daniels’ coaches have praised his ability to not only retain information but implement it and improve each day. As his comfort level in Kliff Kingsbury’s offensive scheme increased, so, too, did his snap counts in practice. He went from getting reps with the starters in certain situations to leading whole periods with the first group. Over the past two weeks, Daniels has exclusively worked with the starting offense.
Throughout the process, Daniels chose to be patient and focus on overcoming the obstacles that were put in front of him.
“I like competing; I’m a competitor,” Daniels said. “Regardless of if I was announced the starter or not, you still gotta compete. You still can’t be content [with] your job, [be] comfortable and think it’s just your job and seal the deal. You gotta compete.”
