Jayden Daniels has been phenomenal for the Washington Commanders since his arrival in the 2024 NFL draft. No, Washington hasn’t played a game, but Daniels has aced every test he has faced thus far.
Daniels outplayed veteran Marcus Mariota throughout training camp and was finally named the starting quarterback on Monday. He was terrific in all three drives he’s played over the first two preseason games. He lit up the Miami Dolphins in last week’s joint practice.
So, while he hasn’t played in an official NFL game yet, the early signs are certainly encouraging.
However, one NFL analyst doesn’t appear too impressed with Daniels.
Aaron Schatz of FTN, one of football’s original analytics experts, thinks Daniels may end up as the “bad” rookie quarterback.
Why?
Surely, Schatz has numbers to support this lazy assumption. Right? Judge for yourself.
I keep saying that it is likely one of the rookie QBs will be very good, one will be very bad, and the others will be kind of below-average and typical for rookies.
It sure does feel like Caleb Williams is going to be the good one and Jayden Daniels may end up as the bad one. https://t.co/2oc4pkhmPT
— Aaron Schatz 🏈 (@ASchatzNFL) August 19, 2024
Remember, there are six first-round quarterbacks from the 2024 NFL draft. The odds are great that not all six will pan out. The chances are high that more than half of the six will not receive a second contract with the team that drafted them.
Schatz then offered a bit of a clarification: Kinda.
Sorry, let me make it clear, it feels like Jayden Daniels may end up as the bad one *not through his own fault.*
— Aaron Schatz 🏈 (@ASchatzNFL) August 19, 2024
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, even if many do not agree. Schatz has always done good work with Football Outsiders, ESPN, and now FTN. He’s not always right, though. No one is always right.
Saying Daniels “may end up” as bad is a strong take that will be revisited for years to come, whether he’s wrong or right.
Chris Simms summed things up perfectly.
Jayden Daniels may not have shown the Wow plays we saw from Caleb this past weekend, but the Commanders have to be pumped about what they’ve got. He’s in command, the ball comes off his hand so easily and fluid
— Chris Simms (@CSimmsQB) August 19, 2024
Washington is “pumped” about Daniels. That’s what matters the most.
