Here's a look at the rookie quarterback who had a great season. The first few years don't automatically lead to a great career.
The 10 rookie quarterbacks in pro football history with at least 300 pass attempts and the highest adjusted net yards per pass attempt in their first season (indicating quarterback performance rather than passer rating) better indicators)…well, interesting list Both short-term and long-term stars.
Dak Prescott, Matt Ryan, and Russell Wilson all found long-term success. Baker Mayfield and Jameis Winston haven't had that, but Mayfield is having quite the renaissance with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Gardner Minshew II is barely a backup at this point. Unfortunately, Robert Griffin III's career was cut short due to injury. And the jury is still out on Justin Herbert and CJ Stroud. Herbert is having his best season ever, while Stroud is struggling for all sorts of reasons in 2024 after his best rookie season in 2023. This goes to show that the quarterback position can be fickle when it comes to career excellence beyond great starts.
The 10th player on that all-time list is still in his rookie season: Washington Commanders quarterback Jaden Daniels. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 draft was a revelation for a team that had been waiting for a savior at the position since Haloti Ngata was swamped at RGIII near the end of Griffin's rookie season in 2012.
Daniels put all of that into practice and earned a Pro Bowl nomination in his first season. This year, he completed 325 of 468 passes for 3,530 yards, 25 touchdowns, nine interceptions, a passer rating of 101.2 (9th in the NFL) and +0.15 passing EPA per play (5th in the league). did. . Under pressure, he completed 52-of-106 passes for 760 yards, seven touchdowns, and four interceptions, with a passer rating of 79.1 (14th in the league) and -0.23 EPA per dropback (4th in the league). are.
A runner on both planned and improvised plays, Daniels had 864 yards on 144 attempts (the most in the NFL among quarterbacks), 6.0 yards per carry, and 27 runs of 10 or more yards. Both are second in the NFL among quarterbacks behind Lamar. Jackson.
There's no question that Daniels entered the NFL with everything you want at the quarterback position. But given the quarterback's history of doing so in the past and what Daniels has put on tape so far this season, there are some things he can still work on (and his coaches have clearly noticed). ). How to ensure his future success.
Stay where your feet are.
“When I was a kid, my parents always told me to just be on my feet, don't worry about the future, [or] What happened in the past? All that matters is that moment. ”
Daniels has been more philosophical in recent press conferences when asked how he's keeping things in his head amidst his newfound success in the NFL, but the quarterback on the field It is equally important to have something under your feet. Especially when throwing while moving, it is important that the upper and lower body work together. And while Daniels obviously has a lot of ball there, he also succumbs to randomness from a mechanical standpoint, and that's an area that could use development.
As anyone who has studied Daniels at all knows, he can be an absolute wizard with off-platform throws and passes out of the pocket. This season, he completed 33 of 53 passes when throwing outside the pocket for 554 yards, 320 air yards, six touchdowns, three interceptions, and a passer rating of 111.7. Of the quarterbacks with at least 50 dropbacks outside the pocket this season, only Lamar Jackson and Matthew Stafford have higher passer ratings. Daniels' -2.13 EPA on pitches like this ranks eighth, which isn't a bad thing.
(By the way, Lamar Jackson's +26.04 EPA on out-of-pocket throws is absolutely ridiculous; Stafford ranks second at +8.09.)
Anyway, Daniels can be great in these plays, whether planned or improvised, but he can get a little greedy at times. And that may catch up with him over time. Daniels' second interception in Week 16 against the Philadelphia Eagles was one such example. Trailing 30-28 with 3:36 left in the game, the managers were left empty-handed after running back Jeremy McNichols motioned from the backfield to the left slot. That was Daniels' first read – McNichols on a backside stop route. Linebacker Nakobe Dean applied pressure with a well-designed blitz that sped up the process for Daniels.
By then, Daniels was scouring the middle of the field, with tight end Zach Ertz and receiver Jamison Crowder running short routes to the front side. The idea there was that Ertz would clear the under zone and Crowder would be open, and that's what happened. However, while moving to his right, Daniels instead chose to try to attack receiver Luke McCaffrey with a dig route, at which point his timing was slightly off. Daniels prayed, but it went unanswered. Cornerback Darius Slay hit the ball to make Reed Blankenship a safety and that was it.
“Well, if we're going to do it, we've got to go all the way,” Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said with a laugh a few days later. “It really is. You can't just high-five everything that goes well and beat him up for everything that doesn't go well. Trying to make a play in a critical situation on third-and-long. I understood. It was a bit of an ambitious throw. But yeah, it's like, 'Hey, if you're going to throw that, you've got to make it work, dog.' And you move forward. ”
Daniels did just that, throwing the game-winning touchdown to Crowder (his fifth touchdown pass of the day against a great defense) with 10 seconds left in the game. For Daniels, you might want to start there.
When you watch Lamar Jackson throw on the move this season, more often than not he waits until he's in the safe pocket he's created for himself before letting it go. Lamar learned that creating safe space in chaos is critical, something many mobile quarterbacks (even good quarterbacks) don't do consistently enough. It's something that hasn't been done yet. Matthew Stafford also does this very well, as does Josh Allen. Patrick Mahomes could be in a league of his own in that department. It's not Daniels. I don't Please do that. It's all about sophistication and consistency. .
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For such a young quarterback, Daniels is very good at reading developments and is far from a look-ahead type of player. There are multiple examples of Daniels going through safety rotations and achieving explosive goals with timing, anticipation, and accuracy. But sometimes he sticks to what he's read. When you do that, bad things tend to happen. Daniels' interception of Atlanta Falcons linebacker Keiden Ellis during Washington's 30-24 win last Sunday night is something that happens to many young quarterbacks, and is not a specific accusation at all. , it's just an event that needs attention and development.
On a play that occurred with 10:45 remaining in the second quarter and the score tied at 7-7, the Falcons lined up in front with an overload on the offensive left side. Linebackers Lorenzo Carter, Ellis and defensive tackle Luke Oluhorolo were the three on that side. At that moment, Carter and Ellis joined the interview. The fourth pass rusher was JD Bertrand, who came from the second level. It was a great concept, so Daniels went with it. The idea was to complete the pass from the inside slot at 1-20 over the middle to Crowder, but Daniels never saw Ellis fall – perhaps because he was so bad as a blitzer. This is probably because it was effective.
“Well, I think with him right now, it’s just making sure he doesn’t get tired of making the right footwork and making the right reads and getting the right checkdowns,” Kingsbury said of his quarterback a few days after the Eagles game. spoke. “I thought last week he did a great job of avoiding sacks, getting the ball out of his hands and throwing it away. Don't get tired of making routine plays. I mean, he did things like Superman, It can be run when asked, but it's up to I think it's a deal. Stay within yourself, stay within your system, and when it's time to make those plays, you're going to make those plays. So he did a really great job last week. We have to stay there.”
Again, none of these issues are fatal flaws for Daniels, and I think Daniels is the most impressive rookie quarterback since Andrew Luck in 2012. It's a combination of arm talent, understanding of the game, and the ability to run as gourmet frosting. Cake makes him an extreme outlier in a good way. But when you look at the history of young quarterbacks and it doesn't say anything about success as they grow and develop (and as defenses figure out what to do with them); It's a reminder that quarterback technique is one of constant diagnosis and improvement. If you stop, you will be late.
Everything we've seen from Jaden Daniels tells us he's up for the challenge. But if he intends to strive beyond the narrative of rookies who never lived up to their early performance, the future will be seen from a learning perspective.
