A year ago, the Washington Commanders came to the NFL combine starting a rebuild under the new regime of general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn. A year later, the Commanders return fresh off an appearance in the NFC championship game and looking for players to add to a team that has launched itself into Super Bowl contention.
From the No. 2 pick to the NFL's final four, the Commanders fast-tracked their rebuild in large part because they nailed the quarterback position a year ago by drafting Jayden Daniels out of LSU.
Though Caleb Williams was practically the consensus top quarterback in the 2024 draft, the Commanders were high on Daniels throughout the process. Peters remembers the team was "pretty locked in" on Daniels heading into the combine, but their interview with him further cemented that Daniels was "their guy."
"We interviewed him really early in the morning," Peters recalled to Peter Schrager on NFL Network. "It was 8 a.m. or something, so that's 5 o'clock west coast time. You know Jayden, he's chill, relaxed, and California cool and all that. But as soon as we turned on the tape, he sat up, perked up, and you could just see his eyes perk up. You could see how much he loved football just by that interaction."
“We were pretty locked in on him.” @Commanders GM Adam Peters knew from the moment they interviewed Jayden Daniels that he was their guy. 🔥 @PSchrags
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) February 28, 2025
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The Commanders absolutely got it right. Daniels brought the Commanders from never ending futility to winning their first playoff game in almost 20 years. His nonchalant cool under pressure helped the Commanders orchestrate multiple game-winning drives and upset the No. 1 seeded Detroit Lions. From an improbable game-winning Hail Mary to throwing five touchdown passes against the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, Daniels played more like an MVP than a rookie over the 2024 season.
The best part is—Daniels is just getting started. As Peters takes on his second combine with the Commanders, he can focus on building around his game-changing quarterback, who will still be on his rookie contract for the seasons ahead. After years of dysfunction before Josh Harris, Peters, and Quinn took over, the future is finally brighter than ever in Washington D.C.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Commanders GM Recalls Moment They Realized Jayden Daniels Was 'The Guy'.
