Nobody expected what this ESPN analyst just said about Jayden Daniels

Some people just have a hard time admitting when they're wrong.

In the lead-up to the 2024 NFL Draft, all the commotion was about whether the Washington Commanders should select Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye as their quarterback of the future with the No. 2 overall pick. Suffice it to say, they chose correctly.

Don't tell ESPN's Ben Solak, though. In his article titled "100 things to know for the 2025 season, 100 days out", he claims that Maye might still be better.

Jayden Daniels had a historically productive rookie quarterback season. The Commanders' fan base and team brass should feel confident and inspired about the future of the position. However, I'm still as -- if not more -- impressed by how well Drake Maye played on that terrible Patriots offense last season.Ben Solak

Solak makes a fair point, albeit contentiously.

It's hard to gauge just how high Maye's ceiling might be at this point in his career, given how horrible the New England Patriots were last season. They figure to be much improved in 2025, particularly offensively, thanks to the additions of wide receiver Stefon Diggs and highly touted rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson, all while hiring a proven winner in head coach Mike Vrabel.

However, let's not retroactively pretend that Daniels' job last season was any easier.

No analyst can diminish Jayden Daniels' rookie accomplishments with Commanders

He took over a team that had gone 4-13 the season before, with a historically awful offensive line and one weapon (Terry McLaurin) who was considered an above-average starter. Washington's situation was considered so unideal for a rookie quarterback that there was a rational justification to give Sam Howell another season while focusing on building the rest of the roster, then selecting a signal-caller once the Commanders were talented enough to maximize him.

Has Washington had gone with Maye last year, he likely would have performed no differently than he did in New England. The Commanders probably win no more than five or six games. For as great of a job as Washington's staff and front office have done, narratives surrounding Dan Quinn, Adam Peters, and even Josh Harris would be completely different in this scenario.

It would have been all about, to quote a catchphrase from another of Harris' sports franchises, 'trusting the process'.

That obsession with long-term potential over short-term production, which just as often results in empty false hope as it does in legitimate progress over time, is the only advantage Maye has over Daniels. There is nothing else.

Maye is younger, and therefore was considered to have more upside ahead of their draft. But for most quarterbacks, that means nothing without the structure in place to maximize their development.

Daniels, of course, is not most quarterbacks. His natural ability to make his job look easy is not normal. It's also the only reason why Maye's seemed harder.

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