Jayden Daniels has been scrutinized more that he’s used to this past week, with his play under the microscope during a bye and blame being freely cast his way. Such is life when you’re 1-4-1.
It’s common for NFL quarterbacks on underperforming teams, but not something he has experienced since being taken No. 2 overall in the 2024 NFL draft. The man was darn near invincible during his rookie year, when the Commanders went to the NFC title game and he was named offensive rookie of the year. Daniels
might’ve had the best rookie season ever for a quarterback, when Washington went 8-4 in one-score games.
Daniels has battled through another left elbow dislocation. There are times this season where he has been that dude, especially since returning from injury. He was awesome in the second half versus San Francisco, but that throwaway on fourth down raised an eyebrow. He was darn near great against the Giants, right up until the fateful end where he had a brain fart that led to a Week 5 tie.
The bye week naturally leads to reflection, especially the results we’ve described. What can Jayden do better? Well, a lot. That’s especially true while operating David Blough’s new system, which requires more under center work and pre-snap adjustments and thinking overall.
Daniels understands that.
“Having urgency in and out of the huddle is the biggest thing for me, where I can grow even more,” Daniels said during a Wednesday press conference. “It’s getting up to the line of scrimmage and giving us more time to dissect and have an idea of what the defense is presenting and what they’re doing. That’s the biggest thing, the communication in and out of the huddle.”
Daniels has talked to Blough about that. They’ve got a collaborative relationship that isn’t new, even with Blough’s promotion to offensive coordinator after years as assistant quarterbacks coach.
“He’s very receptive to everything I talk about,” Daniels said. “He’s always asking me what I like and what I don’t like. That’s the relationship that we’ve built. He’s a first-time coordinator but he’s been here for three years so we’ve built that rapport. We have a common goal in that we want to win and we want to put our best foot forward.”
That starts on Sunday night against the Philadelphia Eagles in a virtual must-win situation for Washington. Daniels has some real positive stats out there in terms of turnover worth plays.
That’s a good thing. But not when you’re losing. When you’re 1-4-1 and have made some costly blunders, this stat morphs into an argument that Daniels isn’t being aggressive enough. Such is life for a high-profile individual playing the most important position in the most popular sport.
Head coach Dan Quinn admitted there’s a fine balance for Daniels, finding accuracy and being smart with the football while still pushing for more. He’s learning that, with a bunch of voices rattling around in his head trying to adjust to a new system while trying to avoid injury and negative plays. He’s a work in progress, with tons of room left to grow. He’s also battling his own standard, set in that illustrious 2024 campaign.
“I’m constantly my biggest critic, win, lose or draw,” Daniels said. “…There are always plays that I left out there in addition to the plays that I made. You just try to minimize that gap.”
He must do so right away, with this Eagles game crucial to a run Washington must go on to re-join the NFC East race.
“We have to put a complete game together,” Daniels said. “We have yet to do that.”
