How Jayden Daniels is making Commanders teammates better ahead of second pro season

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels recently acknowledged he spent portions of the offseason attempting to improve "mechanically" after he earned Offensive Rookie of the Year Award honors for the 2024 campaign.

During a recent chat with NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn touched upon Daniels' growth from the start of springtime workouts through the team's final training-camp practice of the summer. 

"What I’ve noticed already is he’s now making others better by his ability to communicate, post-snap," Quinn said about Daniels. "I noticed early on in practice, it was very early on. [Second-year tight end] Ben Sinnott was running a corner route, and the ball came kind of early to Ben. Before, I don’t know if [Daniels] would’ve articulated this — so he came up after the play, and said, 'Look for it earlier. I’m not going to throw it near the corner, so it’s gonna be on your back shoulder.' And it made Ben totally see that play differently. Now, he wasn’t just running a route. It was, 'I have to look and if the corner’s there, it’s gonna come quickly.' Last year, I think [Daniels] would’ve waited for the coaches to maybe explain that. So that’s an example of how he’s helping others grow."

Daniels seemingly got better each month of his rookie season as he guided his Commanders to a 12-5 record. He then notched playoff wins over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions to ge t Washington to within a game of playing in the Super Bowl. 

While the Commanders ultimately suffered a 55-23 loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in this year's NFC Championship Game, Daniels' performances on some huge stages gave Washington hope that the club has a legitimate franchise quarterback atop the depth chart. Per ESPN stats, Daniels led the league among qualified players with an 86.0 adjusted QBR for the playoffs. 

A previous story mentioned how part of Daniels finding his voice as an on-the-field and behind-the-scenes leader involved the 24-year-old throwing teammates out of huddles after they committed mistakes during summer practices. Washington retaining backup quarterback Marcus Mariota has also been credited for Daniels' improvement from what he was in January.

"Having Marcus helps," Quinn said about Daniels establishing himself as the outspoken CEO of the Washington offense ahead of the upcoming season. "They’ve got a rare connection at quarterback. They talk; they communicate a lot. Maybe that pushed him into that space, maybe he just got there with his knowledge of the offense. But that’s been impressive, how he’s pushing others." 

The Commanders did Daniels a solid by signing wide receiver Terry McLaurin to a three-year contract extension before Labor Day that will ensure McLaurin plays in Washington's Week 1 game against the New York Giants on Sept. 7. As of Monday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Commanders as six-point favorites for that matchup.