The courtship is always the best part when a team is projected to select a player early in the NFL draft. The team leaks all positive information about the player, and the player says he “would love” to play in said town.
That’s essentially what has happened with the Chicago Bears and projected No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams.
The fun part of the 2024 NFL draft begins at No. 2 overall with the Washington Commanders. For most of the past few months, the debate has centered around North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye and LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels. However, the momentum has shifted heavily toward Daniels in recent weeks.
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There was that awkward time last week when the Commanders hosted a group of top-30 visits with multiple prospects, including four quarterbacks: Maye, Daniels, J.J. McCarthy (Michigan), and Michael Penix Jr. (Washington).
That didn’t go over well with Daniels and his camp. His agent liked a couple of tweets criticizing Washington’s decision to host multiple QB prospects simultaneously.
Since then, the Commanders and Daniels have smoothed things out, and Daniels would be happy to play in Washington.
Albert Breer gave some insight into the process in his latest column for Sports Illustrated, previewing the quarterbacks and the draft.
A team in the top 10 told me Monday they’d heard that any remaining issues between the Commanders and Jayden Daniels’s camp had been smoothed over. And I’m not finding many people with rival teams that don’t think the Heisman winner is D.C.-bound.
So, is the team in the top 10 telling Breer that things are cool between Daniels and Washington? How did that team in the top 10 get that info? Was it from Daniels’ side, or did someone from Washington’s organization tell one of their buddies on another team?
That’s important, considering Washington has done an excellent job of protecting any and all information since the new GM, Adam Peters, took over in January.
ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter has repeatedly insisted that he believes Daniels is heading to Washington. Others have followed suit. But even Schefter admitted it was informed speculation.
If Daniels is indeed the pick on Thursday, why did this relationship get off to such a strange start? Remember when Washington held the No. 2 pick in the 2012 NFL draft, and everyone knew the first two picks would be Andrew Luck (Colts) and Robert Griffin III? Does anyone remember that courtship?
It’s not good when you need to smooth things over or “clear the air” before the relationship ever begins.
All the smoke says Daniels will be the Commanders’ next quarterback on Thursday night. And while the past couple of weeks have been odd, no one will remember on draft night as Washington fans rejoice that they’ve finally found a franchise quarterback.