Commanders QB Jayden Daniels not looking at sophomore slump

ASHBURN, VA. – Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels saw single coverage picking up a slot receiver. Newly-acquired Deebo Samuel was pulling away from safety Tyler Owens. Daniels floated the deep ball for a 31-yard touchdown that was easy money.

It was Daniels’ first pass of training camp.

The 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year has shown no sophomore jitters throughout offseason camps and now the opening day of camp on Wednesday. The tight throws made regularly last season are now even more firmly in receivers’ hands. The ball has a little more zip from someone who threw a cross-body, 52-yard Hail Mary last year. Daniels even looks a little more solid from an offseason weight program despite his weight being listed the same as last season – 210 pounds.

After leading Washington to its first NFC Championship Game in 33 years as a rookie, can he be even better?

“Day by day,” said Daniels of his workout motto. “If it was easy everybody would be able to do it, so it's obviously easier said than done.”

Well, Wednesday was a very good day and start for a Commanders team suddenly among Super Bowl contenders after a 14-5 season. Washington spent the offseason largely bolstering the offense around Daniels. It drafted offensive tackle Josh Conerly in the first round to handle the right side and traded a fifth rounder to San Francisco for  Samuel to be a second target. The Commanders also re-signed tight end Zac Ertz.

Daniels didn’t flinch over the team’s leading receiver the past six years missing camp as Terry McLaurin was Washington’s first holdout since offensive tackle Trent Williams in 2018. He understands McLaurin’s absence is about a contract extension.

“It's just business in the NFL,” McLaurin said. “We know Terry's working, we don't really have to worry about him doing any of that, but at the end of the day he's still one of our brothers.

“If this was last year, it'd probably be different because we didn't know each other, but now since we have a whole year under our belt and just the relationship we built on and off the field, we don't really have egos when it comes to our relationship with each other, so it's going to be seamless.”

Instead, Daniels concentrated on new targets like rookie free agent Ja’Corey Brooks, who caught touchdowns from Daniels and Marcus Mariota. Daniels flipped a quick slant to third-rounder Jaylin Lane.

All while working on the one hole Daniels feels remains in his game – footwork. The quarterback has long talked about improving his footwork since arriving in Washington 14 months ago. He’s also working on keeping his eyes downfield and retaining control in the pocket. 

“Little stuff,” he said, sincerely.

“That's kind of just who I am. Gratitude and humility. I don't really look too much into everything, but I would just say just my inner circle, the people I talk to, the people closest to me, they help me stay grounded.”

All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.