Commanders' Jayden Daniels Has 'Too Much Going For Him' For Year 2 Slump

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Adam Schultz | Last updated Jul 15, 2025 11:18 AM ET

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels had perhaps one of the best rookie seasons we've seen as he led the franchise to an NFC Championship game appearance last year.

That is a tough act to follow, and given how swashbuckling Daniels was in Year 1, it is only natural for the league to perhaps get a read on the quarterback, work out his tendencies and find weaknesses to exploit.

As such, some think that Daniels might suffer from the dreaded sophomore slump in Year 2, something that Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud suffered a little from last season.

However, for ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Daniels has too much of a good thing going to regress like that.

"Sometimes the Year 1 hype can be tough to replicate. C.J. Stroud landed at No. 7 last season and struggled at times in Year 2, though he has shown enough to convince Houston he's clearly the long-term answer," Fowler wrote. "Some around the league are at least asking the question of whether Daniels' play will taper off a bit as defenses adjust to both him and Washington's offense. But the consensus is Daniels has too much going for him."

While improving on last year's efforts looks to be a tall order, maybe all fans want is for the Commanders and Daniels to be just as good as last year, or near enough to.

A 10-7 season wouldn't be the end of the world, given that it likely secures playoff football and second in the division. But an 8-9 season would be nightmare fuel and that would mean Daniels does suffer the Year 2 slump.

So there are a lot of ways this thing can go, and while Daniels seems to have the answers to all the tests, so did Stroud ahead of last season.

If Daniels can play consistently enough football to keep the Commanders in the playoff hunt, much like Stroud last season, even with minimal regression overall, Washington will still be in a good spot.

Of course, Daniels might have "too much going for him" to be anything other than sensational in Year 2.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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