Jayden Daniels enters the NFL with a lot of labels — Heisman Trophy winner, transfer-portal success story, top high-school quarterback recruit turned No. 2 overall pick. But what exactly are the Washington Commanders getting as the hoped-for face of the once-proud franchise?
"A competitor — and a dog," Daniels told FOX Sports' Keyshawn Johnson in an exclusive interview on Johnson's podcast, "All Facts No Brakes." "[I'm] gonna do whatever it takes to win and try to change the trajectory of the franchise. Not necessarily in Year 1, but hopefully down the road. It's gonna be a process. I'm someone willing to work."
Daniels knows team success may not come for him as quickly as it did for his friend, Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, who was drafted at the same spot just one year ago. Daniels and Stroud have known each other for years, dating back to their days as slender teenagers with NFL dreams growing up in Southern California's Inland Empire region, roughly 50 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.
"[C.J.]'s my boy; we're competitive. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to do better than him his rookie year," Daniels said. "But what he did is unheard of. I'm not comparing myself to him. … I'm confident in my squad, but I gotta go out there and go to work and see everybody I'm working with and see how tight we can bond."
Daniels still has high expectations for his rookie season. He confirmed to Johnson that he has a friendly wager with his former LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers over who will win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, which Stroud took home last season after leading the Texans back to the playoffs. If one of them wins, he'll be owed $10,000 by the other.
Daniels has the second-shortest odds to win 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year at +600 on FanDuel Sportsbook. Nabers has the fourth-shortest odds at +1400. Daniels still praised his former teammate, comparing him to another great former LSU wideout — Cincinnati Bengals star Ja'Marr Chase.
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"I think he's similar to Ja'Marr, just how explosive they are," Daniels said.
Daniels had actually just completed his pre-draft visit with the Giants when he joined a group visit with the Commanders that also featured top quarterback prospects Drake Maye, Michael Penix Jr. and J.J. McCarthy. Reports quickly emerged that key members of Daniels' camp were not happy with the group dynamic of the visit, and they were not unfounded — Johnson himself confirmed he had heard directly from someone close to Daniels expressing concerns about the visit at the time.
But Daniels insists that he had no issue with the format of the trip, which reportedly included a group outing to a nearby TopGolf driving range facility.
"I was cool with it," Daniels said. "I knew all those guys there. I didn't really trip. It just felt like a [college] recruiting visit. They … didn't really want the visit to be all uptight about football. They wanted to let us have fun, because we had been going through this [pre-draft process] for so long.
"It was just different because it was four of the top five quarterbacks there, which kind of blew up on social media. … I trained with Mike and J.J. all pre-draft. I met Drake last summer. So we were all cool."
Daniels also praised his new offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury as "open-minded," saying the Commanders' offense will not be a pure form of the "Air Raid" style that Kingsbury is most associated with.
"We're gonna have balance," Daniels said. "[Kingsbury] ain't the OC who's like, ‘this is my way, we've got to to x, y and z.' Having conversations with him is like, ‘Man, what do you like? How can we help the team be better?' We're bouncing ideas back and forth off each other. But I like his scheme, honestly. It suits me."
Daniels also said Kingsbury and new Commanders head coach Dan Quinn are flexible when it comes to the timetable for Daniels to start. While many expect Daniels to be the starting quarterback in Week 1 over veteran Marcus Mariota and undrafted rookie Sam Hartman, Daniels told Johnson the team is not committed to a strict timeline for when he takes the reins.
"I'm confident in my ability, but that's a decision they've got to make," Daniels said. "They said whenever I'm ready, I'm ready. So whenever I feel like I'm ready, I'm ready."
Whenever he does start, Daniels will be headed into the highest-profile division in the entire NFL, going up against the Giants, Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles — three iconic football brands as well as three teams who have all had success much more recently than the Commanders.
"It'll be very competitive," Daniels said. "Two years ago, the Giants were a playoff team. You got Philly, that went to the Super Bowl two years ago then what they did in the offseason with [signing] Saquon Barkley and drafting those cornerbacks [Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean]. You got Dallas, who's been making noise in the division for a while. So I think it'll be very tough.
"I'm excited to be a part of that division. It's a lot of physicality, a lot of stars. I get to go to ‘JerryWorld', I get to play over in Philly, get to play in New York. There's always going to be a lot of eyes on the NFC East. … I think we can make some noise."
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