Credit: Nic Antaya/Getty Images

Jayden Daniels is PFF’s 2nd-highest rookie QB ever, but Week 1 pits him against No. 1

Originally posted on NFL Analysis Network
By Ricky Westaby | Last updated Sep 4, 2025 11:10 AM ET

Jayden Daniels had a rookie season for the ages with the Washington Commanders, seamlessly inserting himself as their future franchise quarterback.

Daniels helped guide the Washington Commanders to the NFC Championship game in his first year in the NFL, a feat other rookies could only dream of.

The Commanders and most around the NFL know that Jayden Daniels is their man, reinforced by their offseason movements and deals made in the last 12 months.

Star wide receiver Terry McLaurin signed a new contract extension, and they also traded for elite LT Laremy Tunsil and Deebo Samuel. In the later stages of last season, they brought in Marshon Lattimore, too.

PFF graded Daniels’ rookie season, a year in which he showed he is destined for NFL greatness, as the second-highest ever for a rookie quarterback at 89.6. The highest? He’s playing Daniels on Sunday in Week One!

Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

Russell Wilson was PFF’s highest graded rookie QB ever, Daniels faces him in Week 1

Jayden Daniels and New York Giants starting quarterback Russell Wilson will go head-to-head in Week One, with a little bit of history behind it.

The only higher-graded rookie quarterback by PFF in its history was Russell Wilson, dating back to his rookie season in 2012 with the Seattle Seahawks!

Wilson’s grading was only marginally better than Daniels’, by 0.1, earning an overall rookie season grade of 89.7 in a stellar rookie year under Pete Carroll.

The sky is the limit for Jayden Daniels after one of the best rookie seasons in NFL history pic.twitter.com/weGXK8bLZJ
— PFF (@PFF) September 3, 2025

Pete Carroll and Commanders head coach Dan Quinn have something quite important in common. Consider this story a connect-the-dots as it all leads to Washington winning the Super Bowl in 2025!

Before getting into that, it feels as if the NFL scriptwriters might have had a glance over at the PFF stats and hoped that Jaxson Dart didn’t beat Wilson to the Giants’ starting job!

The best rookie QB in PFF history, now a veteran of the game, will face the second-best rookie in PFF history on Sunday afternoon. Now here is the fun part.

Commanders to win Super Bowl in Daniels’ 2nd season like Russell Wilson did with Seahawks?

All signs point towards the Washington Commanders winning the Super Bowl in 2025, with the logic completely infallible…

Russell Wilson won the Super Bowl with the Seahawks in his second year (2013) after the best PFF rookie grading in their history.

New Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll was the Seahawks HC then, and who was the defensive coordinator? None other than the Commanders’ head coach, Dan Quinn.

Quinn has the ultimate faith in Daniels to deliver for Washington this year after the second-highest graded rookie QB season in PFF history. It is not the Super Bowl or failure, however.

The former Seahawks DC went to two Super Bowls in 2013 and 2014, and came away with one. He made it to the NFC Championship game in his first year as Commanders head coach, better than Carroll did with Russell Wilson in his first year!

This article first appeared on NFL Analysis Network and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: