There are many lies out there.
Honesty isn’t always the best policy. The run doesn’t always set up the pass. And sometimes you do get a second chance to make a first impression.
For Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, the 2024 season was about as good a first impression as one could have. Twelve wins. Rookie of the Year award. A Hail Mary against the Bears. One game away from the Super Bowl.
But one truth? What goes up must come down. And in 2025, Washington crash-landed back to earth as Daniels missed more games than he played and the team finished 5-12.
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An ugly season, coupled with an uneven end to training camp this summer, and questions start forming. Was 2024 a fluke? Did defenses figure Daniels out?
For his part, Daniels has said all the right things about moving on from last year and putting in the work to improve himself. His coaches have raved about his accuracy and football IQ. His teammates talk about him like the 2024 season — not 2025 — was the last they saw of the quarterback.
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While it’s unclear what the coming season will bring, one thing feels certain in Ashburn: This is Jayden Daniels 2.0.
“What I did Year 1, what I did Year 2 doesn’t really matter,” Daniels said ahead of the team’s Week 1 matchup against the Eagles. “Now we’re onto Year 3. Whatever happens Sunday, that’s what people are going to talk about.”
Let the Commanders tell it, and Daniels has put in his 10,000 hours. He’s constantly tinkering with the minutiae of the game, working with each receiver after practices on where to sit down on a route, when to make a move on a defender and how they like to receive the ball. Whether he’s sending a film clip to receiver Terry McLaurin or engaging in a scheme discussion with new offensive coordinator David Blough, Daniels is working to be in full command of Washington’s offense.
Daniels has looked sharp on the field, dropping the ball in the bucket to his receivers like a ceiling leak. On timing routes, the ball is out of Daniels’ hand the second he hits his third step. His over-the-shoulder passes end up where only his receivers can grab them.
“It’s the location of the throw. It’s one of his superpowers, is the accuracy,” coach Dan Quinn said last month. “That’s not luck.”
Blough, entering his first season as offensive coordinator after two years as assistant quarterbacks coach, agreed.
“He’s as accurate as he’s ever been,” Blough said. “It’s a testament to asking him to do something different and him wanting to grow and evolve.”
Blough’s offense will call for more play-action and bootlegs with the hope that getting Daniels outside of the pocket will lead to more downfield throws. He’ll be tasked with making more pre-snap reads and changing plays at the line of scrimmage. All while operating more under center, which he has done just 32 times through his first two seasons, according to the Commanders.
“Day by day, I just try to come in and have control of the offense and get 1% better,” Daniels said during camp.
But his coaches have raved about how quickly he’s picked up a new system. Quinn has repeatedly said he was taken aback by Daniels’ ability to get up to speed.
“He often makes the difficult things look easy,” Quinn said in July.
Evolution in the passing game will be a priority this season, as the Commanders look to rely less on Daniels’s running abilities. In 2024 and 2025, Daniels had the third-most rushing attempts by a quarterback (206) despite playing in just 24 games.
He’s also taken some nasty hits: In his first two seasons, Daniels broke a rib, sprained his left knee, strained his right hamstring and dislocated his left elbow.
Quinn has encouraged Daniels to live to fight another day by throwing the ball away rather than risk contact. The quarterback understands that advice, but is mindful that his legs — which he calls his “God capabilities” — are just as valuable as his right arm.
“Myself, anybody around would say they still want me to use [my legs] as a weapon. I’m pretty sure fans would say the same thing,” Daniels told The Washington Sun. “I don’t want to sit back there and not be myself, but also just be smart with the opportunities and the chances I take.
“At the end of the day, I still play football. I still have a job to do to help my team win games, and if that’s taking off on third-and-3 and getting a first down instead of sitting back there and trying to make something happen, I’m gonna do it.”
Daniels spent the offseason strengthening his entire body, particularly his legs, core and hips. He told The Sun he added “eight to 10 pounds” of muscle. But they may be hard to spot: Ever since Daniels was a 135-pound freshman in high school, there has been skepticism around his weight.
He’s too skinny. His body won’t hold up. He needs some milk.
Daniels, currently listed at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, said it’s all a misconception.
“I think it’s more so my build,” he said. “I’m heavier than a lot of people actually give me credit for. I’m just a taller, slender guy.”
If his listed weights are accurate, Daniels has gained over 50 pounds since weighing 157 pounds his senior year of high school in 2018. He sees no reason to put on too much additional muscle.
“Not really looking to be like a bodybuilder or anything like that,” he said.
Daniels may not want to be Mr. Olympia, but he is striving to move past his first two seasons.
He does his best to ignore the analysts and pundits who believe the Commanders will sink to the bottom of the NFC East this year, choosing to maintain his approach of never getting too high or too low. He believes that returning to the successes of 2024 will require a focus on his day-to-day process rather than chasing a specific result.
“I don’t want to be my final product in Week 1,” he said. “I just want to go out there and continue to just get better each and every day, each and every game and do whatever it takes to help the team win some football games.”
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