Ad Disclosure
Jayden Daniels collected the snap, identified the blitzing linebacker coming up the middle, and turned his eyes downfield. He set his feet and fired. Left hash to just outside the numbers along the right sideline. Frank Darby was waiting. He had a step on his man and hauled in a contested catch over a second defender. Forty-two yards on third-and-long.
That was the first collegiate completion for Daniels, then a true freshman at Arizona State.
“Just the beginning,” the Sun Devils’ official Twitter account said in a post about a 30-7 victory. Daniels threw for 284 yards and 2 scores that day, becoming the first true freshman to start a season opener at the school and setting a program record for passing yards in a debut.
Fast forward 5 years and Daniels, once again wearing red and yellow, was making his unofficial NFL debut in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
On a third-and-6, Daniels took a snap from an empty gun. New York brought 4, Daniels surveyed the field and then ripped a ball to the right sideline. Dyami Brown was on the receiving end this time. Daniels put the ball on the money for 42 yards and a first down.
His first NFL completion.
Jayden Daniels’s first completion was the exact same in college and the NFL.
Go ball down the right sideline on 3rd down for 42 yards. pic.twitter.com/TGyntEOs7L
— Sam Fortier (@Sam4TR) August 10, 2024
Daniels would pay off his first and only possession in his preseason debut for the Washington Commanders with a 3-yard rushing score on third-and-goal. (The ball found its way to Daniels’ mother afterward.)
The original play was a screen. Facing a 7-man box, Daniels checked out of it and sent Brown on a go route. He held the safety with his eyes and then, as he did so many times throughout a Heisman campaign last fall, fired a dart downfield.
“I thought of ‘Top Gun,’ ‘Do I have permission to buzz the tower? No, Ghostrider. The pattern is full,'” Washington coach Dan Quinn said after the game. “On that one, he wanted to ask for forgiveness and not permission and then throw an absolute dime over the top to Dyami.
“It was a really cool play. I think it probably illustrates the awareness. He did not ask for permission. He went ahead and buzzed the tower anyway. It was a really cool play.”
Added Daniels: “It was going to be a dead play. So I just checked it and gave my guy a chance to make a play.”
Afterward, he flashed a smile to the sidelines.
Welcome to the Daniels show, Washington. You’re gonna love it.
Daniels finished a modest 2-for-3 passing for 45 yards. He had just the 1 rushing attempt for the 3-yard score. The quarterbacks expected to top Washington’s depth chart — Daniels and Marcus Mariota — threw just 4 combined passes. With Washington giving Daniels more work in a joint practice with the Jets earlier in the week, Quinn gave more game reps to reserves Jeff Driskel and Sam Hartman in Washington’s first preseason game.
The Jets won 20-17, but Daniels was the story for Washington.
Quinn and the Commanders have been methodical in their approach to this offseason’s quarterback competition. Daniels, the No. 2 pick in this year’s NFL Draft, won’t be anointed because of his prior accolades. He’ll have to earn the job. He’s doing just that.
Earlier this week, Quinn said Daniels had earned the right to start in Washington’s preseason opener. After Saturday’s game, he gushed about Daniels’ infectious demeanor as a leader on the team.
“I think you’ve probably seen he and his teammates interact during the time here. They all have belief and trust in him,” Quinn said. “It is a cool thing to see.”
Washington was missing 3 offensive tackles. New York did not play its expected first-team defense. The typical “don’t overanalyze a preseason game” refrain applies here. Daniels only had 1 possession. And he only threw 3 passes.
More work is on the way. More challenges will come with it. However, Daniels’ starting point is a good one.
The amount of growth he has shown between a pair of 42-yard completions in August is impressive.
And Washington may finally have its answer at quarterback. Sam Howell last year. Carson Wentz and Taylor Heinicke before him. Alex Smith. Case Keenum. Washington hasn’t had a quarterback elicit this level of excitement since RG3.
Though Washington has yet to officially name him, Daniels is likely to win the starting job. He has the second-shortest odds at bet365 to lead NFL rookies in passing yards (+300), lead NFL rookies in passing touchdowns (+700), and win the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year honor (+650). His debut has people buzzing. We’ll see what comes next.
Related: Here’s a bet365 Louisiana promo for new users to take advantage of.
Washington plays again next Saturday at Miami. Daniels will have a chance to build on a sunny first showing.
Said Daniels, “What better way to have my debut.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
