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John Keim, ESPN Staff Writer
ASHBURN, Va. — The Washington Commanders have sought a long-term answer at quarterback for longer than Jayden Daniels has been alive.
They’ve started 35 quarterbacks since last winning the Super Bowl after the 1991 season. They’ve started eight over the past four years. Not coincidentally, they’ve won just three playoff games since that championship season.
Not that Daniels, the second pick in the NFL draft Thursday, is worried about that past.
“I don’t feel no pressure,” he said. “I’m going to just come in and just be me.”
Daniels becomes the latest hope for a franchise that has remade itself over the past year under new owner Josh Harris. The Commanders also have a new general manager in Adam Peters and coach in Dan Quinn. Quarterback was the next big position they needed to fill following a 4-13 season.
“We all know what a good quarterback can do in this league,” Harris said. “Last season was difficult for me to live through, difficult for all the city to live through. But … that gave us the opportunity to select someone who has been elite, and can be elite, so if we end up with an elite quarterback, if we build around that person, this thing can get going in a big way.”
Washington opted for Daniels, whom Peters said was the top player on its draft board, over three other quarterbacks it brought in on visits: J.J. McCarthy, Drake Maye and Michael Penix Jr. Throughout the process, Washington kept its ultimate desire quiet, even if many in the league projected Daniels to the Commanders.
But Peters said Thursday night that he settled on Daniels a while ago, though he wanted to finish the process just to make sure before reaching a final decision. The next question, though, is when Daniels will become the full-time starter. Quinn merely said when Daniels is ready, that’s when Washington will have him start.
“There’s no timeline,” Quinn said.
“It is not a given I’m a starter Week 1,” Daniels added. “I got to earn it. I got to learn the playbook, earn the respect of my teammates, and go out there and try to win football games.”
But they know his time will come sooner than later. Quinn said he was sold on Daniels after not just watching the film, but also talking to people at LSU who either worked with him or coached him during his two seasons.
Daniels threw for 6,725 yards, 57 touchdowns and 7 interceptions in two seasons with the Tigers — 40 of those scoring passes occurred during his Heisman Trophy-winning season last fall.
“This is a guy that is a rare competitor,” Quinn said. “Anybody who watches football can say this is a talented guy.”
And that electric ability can cause issues for opposing defenses.
“One of his superpowers is the ability to escape and make a good play,” Quinn said. “It could give nightmares as a coordinator. I’m very excited that a number of [defensive coordinators] have to spend extra hours and sleepless nights in the offseason.”
Peters said Thursday that Daniels takes away “the soul of a defense” with his explosive plays. When Daniels was asked what it looks like for him when he takes away that soul, he responded simply, “2023 Florida game.” When asked to elaborate, he said, “Just turn on the tape and watch that game.”
Daniels threw for 372 yards and three touchdowns while running for 234 yards and two more scores in a 52-35 win over the rival Gators. Games like that catapulted Daniels to the Heisman and, eventually, to Washington with the second pick.
It’s what Daniels said he envisioned happening when he was around 7 years old and wrote on a piece of paper: “I’ll play in the NFL,” and placed it on his wall. He said he paid attention to former quarterbacks such as Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
“How they market themselves, how they carry themselves as franchise guys,” Daniels said. “Hopefully one day be in their shoes. You never see any off-the-field issues about them. They carry themselves with a high standard and I want to be in their shoes one day. Hopefully I get there, but I’ve got my own dream, my own road to take.”
Daniels also was versed in Washington’s quarterback history, which he referred to when asked about its drought at the position.
“But to the history, man, that man sitting back over there in the corner, Doug Williams — the first Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl — and [Robert Griffin III], the excitement that he brought; two people I’ve known for some time. To be able to lean on them and how they had success here and maneuvered throughout this organization, man, I’m open ears, for sure. I’m ready to learn.”
Source: www.espn.com