Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels walks off the field after losing the NFC Championship game. Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Commanders' Jayden Daniels has one problem to fix

Originally posted on Washington Commanders on SI
By Jeremy Brener | Last updated Jul 4, 2025 10:00 AM ET

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels is looking to improve from his rookie season.

He's set a strong baseline for himself, but the Commanders didn't win the Super Bowl, so improvement can always be made.

CBS Sports writer Zachary Pereles highlighted part of Daniels' game that needs to get better.

Daniels has one trait to improve

"Though accurate in general and incredibly accurate outside the pocket, Daniels had an 11.2% off-target rate on throws in the pocket, 25th out of 36 qualifying quarterbacks. While the misses weren't way off, Daniels did leave some open throws on the field when his mobility wasn't a factor," Pereles wrote.

"This generally occurred over two settings: when the defense did a good job keeping him hemmed in or for a small stretch after Daniels' rib injury. In the four-week stretch after Daniels' injury against the Panthers, he scrambled on just 9.5% of his dropbacks, down from his 12.5% rate for the season as a whole. He didn't have a single scramble against the Steelers. And in those games, he had lots of misses from the pocket.

"Daniels had 75 scrambles last season, 25 more than any other player and the most in a single season since and the most on record (since 2000). While he is a marvelous scrambler, the film shows he might have had even bigger gains if he kept his eyes up a split-second longer."

Daniels may be one of the best quarterbacks in the league, but he is far from perfect. That's what makes him scary.

If Daniels can fix these little issues in his game, he could help the Commanders get even closer to hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.

Daniels and the Commanders report to training camp on July 22.