ESPN: Jayden Daniels stands out 'around the league' for Washington Commanders

Jayden Daniels did not wait long to make a league-wide impression, and the quarterback is just a rookie with the Washington Commanders.

Last year’s Heisman Trophy winner was the No. 2 overall pick and is projected as the future of the franchise. He might be NFL-ready with his dual-threat abilities. That’s what ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Saturday after talking to people around the league.

“Jayden Daniels, this one’s interesting because this is a time of year where I talked to teams and scouts and execs about, you know, some big picture items, who stands out, who doesn’t around the league,” Fowler said on SportsCenter. “People unprompted, multiple people have brought up Jayden Daniels and what he could be with Washington, and it’s scary because this is a guy who is a more polished passer coming out than let’s say Lamar Jackson and some of the other running quarterbacks.

“But he can still run with the best of them. So there was a feeling in the NFC East, that this guy who’s trending upward and has been working hard, shown up at 5:30 every morning for work. He set a tone there and there’s a feeling he’s gonna do really well.”

Fowler must be hearing correctly regarding Daniels. Commanders’ head coach Dan Quinn loves the combination of humility and swagger in his rookie quarterback.

“I said it recently and I think this sums it up great – he has the humility and kind of the hunger of the young player,” Quinn told Jim Rome. “‘I’ve got a lot to prove, I’ve still got a lot to learn,’ but he also has the swagger and calmness of a veteran player. I think those 50-plus starts from ASU and LSU, that seems to come about. You see him on the field and in the huddle, that’s where he’s at his best.

“He worked really hard to learn the system. I would say, probably one advantage of starting something new, all the other players haven’t been in the system three, four, five years where they just knew it inside-out. There was a collective learning going on together. He was right there at the front of it.”

During his final season at LSU, Daniels threw for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns, four interceptions, a 72.2% completion percentage, 1,134 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns.

If he even gets close to those numbers, Daniels might be around to dominate the league for years to come.