Kliff Kingsbury raves about rookie QB Jayden Daniels
Jayden Daniels is two days away from his first-ever NFL start with the Commanders. He’d probably love to play all the snaps and win by multiple touchdowns, although preseason games quickly are forgotten once the clock ticks down to zero.
And the stats would be huge as well. Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said no one sets goals higher than Daniels, the former LSU star and No. 2 player of this year’s NFL Draft.
“I think he is just putting in the work to reach the level that he expects himself to play at this year, which is probably higher than what any of us could imagine,” Kingsbury told reporters. “But I just see day in, day out, its consistency in his approach, his consistency in how he treats people and how he studies, how he works. And when you continue to do those things and stack those days, you’re going to get the results you want.”
The Commanders want to be better than last season. That’s a minimal goal considering Washington finished with a 4-13 record. It’s why they were in position to select Daniels, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner. He went right after USC’s Caleb Williams, but ahead of every other quarterback.
New Washington coach Dan Quinn announced this week that Daniels was No. 1 on the depth chart. Quinn said Daniels earned the spot. The Commanders will play the Jets to kick off the preseason. Marcus Mariota remains Plan B.
Quinn said of Daniels: “I had high expectations for him coming in, but I would say he’s definitely surpassed even my expectations of the readiness, the command. I knew he was gonna be cool, knowing the system. He’s just got that way about him. You do see the other players gravitate toward him. They recognize how hard he’s worked at it.”
Don’t expect for Daniels to play a ton in the preseason opener. But he’s still getting the work. The Jets and Commanders conducted a joint practice Thursday. That’s where Daniels got the most productive snaps.
As for the young quarterback, he did spell out his specific goals earlier this week.
“How sharp can we be? How fast can we execute our offense?” Daniels told reporters, as he ticked off the check list. “Limit the pre-snap and post-snap penalties. Go out there and try to execute at a high level. It’s my first one ever, so I don’t know what I’m getting myself into, so it’d be a surprise for me, but just go out there and have fun.”
“I love the process,” Kingsbury said of Daniels. “I love how he approaches each day, how he handles the good, the bad, all the installs. He must study it like crazy at night, because every morning when we get here and he walks through with us, he nails it. And so, you just appreciate the work he’s putting in. He’s paying the cost to try and get where he wants to get. And that’s all you can ask from a young player.”