You can make plenty of comparisons between Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and veteran Marcus Mariota. In 2014, Mariota won the Heisman Trophy as a record-breaking dual-threat quarterback at Oregon.
Mariota would go No. 2 overall in the 2015 NFL draft to the Tennessee Titans.
In 2023, Daniels won the Heisman Trophy by passing for nearly 4,000 yards, rushing for over 1,000, and accounting for 50 touchdowns. He went No. 2 overall to the Washington Commanders.
In April, they became teammates when Washington drafted Daniels — one month after the Commanders signed Mariota to a one-year deal in free agency. While they are officially competing to start at quarterback in 2024, the job belongs to Daniels, with Mariota serving as his backup and mentor.
If Daniels becomes the starting quarterback as expected this season, he will look to Mariota as a sounding board. While they haven’t been teammates long, Daniels has spoken highly of Mariota.
As it turns out, Daniels has been a fan of Mariota for a while. A photo recently surfaced showing Daniels and his mother, with the Washington quarterback wearing a Mariota No. 8 Tennessee Titans jersey. Mariota spent the first five seasons of his NFL career in Tennessee.
Throwback: A young Jayden Daniels wearing a #Titans Marcus Mariota jersey #RaiseHail pic.twitter.com/rR4Wk0OKKt
— brandon (@JayDanielsMVP) June 20, 2024
While Mariota’s career hasn’t gone as he planned, he is about to begin his 10th NFL season in 2024, with no signs of his career coming to a close at 30 years old. If anyone can offer advice to Daniels as he navigates NFL life, Mariota is the guy.
