Commanders draft Jayden Daniels – Syndication Server

PFF commends Commanders draft and roster overhaul

A mostly positive and realistic preview of the Commanders’ 2024 season.

Pro Football Focus provided their season preview Friday, of the Washington Commanders.

Sam Monson and Dalton Wasserman of PFF gave their evaluations. Here we go:

Monson began unfairly calling Dan Quinn “a retread head coach” and noted a “huge proportion of the roster was overhauled.” Quinn once won the NFC; how is he merely a retread?

Wasserman began much more optimistically. He thinks, “Dan Quinn is going to come in there and change things quickly. And for me, this was a monster draft class. This was actually my favorite draft class in the whole league…These are players all over the place who are really good college players…There’s probably no one in our building who hypes up Jayden Daniels more than I do.”

Not being shy about Daniels, Wasserman continued, “I look at him and go, that could be a down-the-line MVP caliber player…He, to me, is the full package. If Caleb (Williams) wasn’t sitting there, he would have been the number one pick pretty easily…I think he is every bit in the Rookie of the Year race as Caleb Williams or anybody else is.”

“I find Washington a really difficult team to project forward,” countered Monson. He pointed to the massive turnover on the entire roster and referred to the NFC East as “that weird division,” noting that no one has won the division in consecutive years in two decades.

“Overall I think you are right, Jayden Daniels could be really, really good. Their offensive line is still a bit of a concern for me. They still don’t have a great-looking one on paper.”

“I don’t think they will be where the Cowboys or Eagles are, but I think this could be a close division, maybe tighter than people are expecting it to be.”

Dalton echoed Monson regarding the offensive line, “I don’t think it is the worst line in the league. It could certainly be a concern, and offensive tackle especially is a spot where that could be a sore spot.”

Dalton likes Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu’s additions at linebacker but sees questions at defensive end and cornerback.

“If they hit on Johnny Newton and Mike Sainristil, you’ve got a seriously better base to work with.

So both guys see things looking up for the Commanders with the new staff and new overhauled roster.

Former Washington cap analyst praises Harris ownership group, Peters and other Commanders

Lots of praise for Washington’s offseason moves — on and off the field.

Former Washington Redskins salary cap analyst J.I. Halsell joined Al Galdi on his podcast Thursday, and Halsell had some direct comments regarding some current Commanders’ players and staff.

Josh Harris ownership group: “They have been willing to think outside the box in how they have gone about their process. To bring in Bob Myers was outside the box, but leadership is leadership, whether we are talking basketball or football. When you have a leadership group that is willing to think outside of the box, I think that is great.”

Jayden Daniels: “He is not much bigger than he was back then (Arizona State) and I know that is a concern around his NFL game, his stature, his frame. Look, the kid has a high ceiling. He has put up high numbers in the SEC, and it’s impressive…You take the guy with the high ceiling, potential (when drafting).”

Kliff Kingsbury: “That guy is a great OC (offensive coordinator). He’s proven he can orchestrate an offense. Now, if you want him to lead the entire team, he’s just shown mediocre results. But he’s shown he can orchestrate a high-powered offense. So, when you combine that with the upside of Jayden Daniels, you got to be excited as a Commanders fan.”

Brandon Sosna: “It’s been a very fast rise for him…his rise to this role has happened very quickly, over five years. Rob Rogers is going to be a tremendous resource for Brandon on the nuances of the negotiations and managing the (salary) cap.”

Adam Peters: “The end goal of cap management is to create enough flexibility so that you are not hamstrung in how you build the roster…It tells me they are thinking, ‘Let’s try to build this thing through the draft, cheap(er) rookie contracts and marginal to not expensive veteran free agent contracts’. Yes, I do like how they have gone about it, this first offseason.”

Jonathan Allen: “Roster construction, roster management is really an exercise in succession plan and risk mitigation…It’s not by chance that they drafted in the second round a defensive tackle out of Illinois…If we decide to move on from Jon Allen, then we already have his successor in place. We drafted him in the second round, so we think he can play.”

Samuel Cosmi: “If he is proven in the offseason weight program and as we go into training camp that he is going to be a scheme fit, then you do want to reward your young guy…but it is always cheaper to do the extension sooner, rather than later. ”

Daniels and Commanders are actually scaring others to death?

The Daniels talk is exciting, but it’s important to remember he’s still a rookie.

It’s that time of year again, and everyone’s favorite NFL team is going to be much better than they were in 2023.

All of the draft selections your team made in April have tremendous upside. Your fan base is busy projecting how good they are going to be in 2024.

I remember how George Allen was always acquiring a couple of new veterans every off season. “The future is now,” Allen would proclaim, firing up the fan base. The Redskins were going to be even better next year.

That was 50 years ago, and I’ve been watching this phenomenon ever since.

But this offseason, may take the cake regarding the Commanders.

Three weeks ago, ESPN’s Louis Riddick declared Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels was “going to take the town by storm.” After three weeks, Riddick has had more than enough time to calm down and become more realistic, right?

After the latest workouts Riddick talked of how the ball rarely hits the ground, Jayden Daniels is that good. Not to be outdone, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler last week exclaimed that others around the NFL are saying, ” I am kinda scared to death of what Washington could be with Jayden Daniels.”

But “Scared to death of Washington…” People, they were 4-13 last year, and Daniels is going to be so great in his rookie season. Are other NFL insiders already scared to death of Washington?

If Daniels and the Commanders are already scaring them to death, what is Washington’s record going to be this season? Scared to death? Does that mean 12-5? 13-4?

Excuse me, did you forget about the offensive tackles? How about the defense that was absolutely last in several categories last year? Noticed how Ron Rivera’s four first-round choices have performed?

Of course, Adam Peters and Dan Quinn have worked hard to improve the roster, and Daniels will make exciting plays, but do you remember great NFL quarterbacks like Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, and Josh Allen who struggled at times as rookies?

Have those guys forgotten Justin Herbert still hasn’t won a playoff game?

We here at Commanders Wire want very much for Daniels to have a productive rookie season, but lets’ have some realistic expectations, shall we?

Commanders listed as one of top 5 most underrated Week 1 games

Commanders and Bucs named a “sneaky good” Week 1 matchup.

What are the top five most underrated games of Week 1 in 2024?

Rich Eisen, on the “Rich Eisen Show” Wednesday, came prepared with his list of the top five games that he believes are under the radar of most NFL fans.

Eisen provided one honorable mention game that barely missed his list when he cited the Titans at Bears. Eisen stated this will be a big game as well because he believes overall No. 1 2024 draft selection QB Caleb Williams will result in the Bears being the most talked about non-playoff team (2023) during the upcoming preseason.

In his countdown, Eisen listed the Commanders at Buccaneers as the fifth most underrated game of the openers.

“Nobody is talking about this one. This team made the divisional round last year, and you want to talk about running it back, I am talking about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And it is the debut of Jayden Daniels in the National Football League and Dan Quinn as the new head coach of the Washington Commanders. Commanders at Bucs is an under-the-radar sneaky good Week 1 game that we are not talking about right now. I kind of dig it.”

“What if Washington hangs 30 on them and wins by two scores?” asked co-host Chris Brockman.

Eisen replied back, “Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, Austin Ekeler, Brian Robinson Jr. These are no slouches, and Jayden Daniels comes in and shows up like he could be like, remember last year’s second overall pick in the draft did (referring to C.J. Stroud of course). No expectations, not high, right?”

The rest of Eisen’s list of Week 1 most underrated games were:

4. Cardinals at Bills

3. Texans at Colts

2. Jaguars at Dolphins

1. Raiders at Chargers

You can watch here for video of the entire segment.

Did Commanders make Daniel Jeremiah’s top five breakout teams in 2024?

The Commanders named a potential 2024 breakout team by Daniel Jeremiah.

Daniel Jeremiah, a guest on the Rich Eisen Show on Monday, came prepared with his five breakout teams for 2024.

That is to say, which five teams who bottomed out last season will make a large improvement in 2024?

The NFL Network analyst gave his top five in this order: Bengals, Chargers, Bears, Commanders, and Cardinals.

What did Jeremiah and Eisen have to say about the Commanders?

Eisen: “Washington? I was talking about it again the other day when Chris (Brockman) had them 31st on his rankings. Jayden Daniels, I can’t wait to see what he looks like. But Terry McLaurin, Ekeler, Brian Robinson, Jahan Dotson, Kliff Kingsbury dialing it up. They have weapons there, man. They could really light it up, potentially.”

Jeremiah: “They’ve got some weapons there. Offensive line, they’ve got bodies to fill all of those holes. That’s my one, let’s wait and see. I do have some reservations there. Let’s see what that offensive line looks like. But the other side of it, Rich, this is not player-driven but more coach-driven; when was the last time you saw a Dan Quinn defense that didn’t punch above its weight? They’re going to be playing with their hair on fire, playing so hard, squeezing every drop of talent they can out of that group. I think he is going to get more out of that defense than people are expecting.”

Eisen shot back: “The last time I saw that out of a Dan Quinn defense, was the last game he coordinated for the Dallas Cowboys, to be very honest with you.”

Jeremiah simply laughed as if to say, “Ok, you got me with that one.”

I’m usually a big fan of Jeremiah’s work. However, in this case, upon first glance, NFL fans should notice that though the Bengals did finish last in the AFC North in 2023, their record was 9-8. Consequently, how are they going to have the largest breakout in 2024 unless they win 14 games to finish 14-3?

Also, the Bears were actually 7-10 in 2023, three games better than the 4-13 Commanders and Cardinals, while two games better than the 5-12 Chargers.

The discussion did not provide the qualifications for a top breakout team. Should a top breakout team win, say, five more games than they did in 2023?

If so, Jeremiah’s five teams’ records would be as follows: Bengals 14-3, Bears 12-5, Chargers 10-7, and Commanders and Cardinals both 9-8.

Unless one is willing to define what a breakout season is in terms of improved wins (+5, my example), then what are we even predicting?

Former NFL QB: Rookie Michael Penix Jr. more ready than Commanders’ Daniels

Is Michael Penix Jr. more pro-ready than Jayden Daniels? It doesn’t matter: One will play, one will not.

“These guys can play quarterback, I think it is a ____ good group.”

That was Chris Simms’ quick summary of what he thinks about this years NFL rookie quarterback class. He and co-host Mike Florio on Pro Football Talk last week, were discussing the 2024 rookie quarterbacks.

Simms even called this group “The Ready Rookies.” Interestingly enough, he was discussing his ranking of current NFL quarterbacks from 26 through 30.

Where was the Commanders’ Jayden Daniels in the Simms’ rankings? Daniels the rookie from LSU, drafted second overall by the Commanders, was ranked No. 28 by Simms.

26. Will Levis
27. Michael Penix, Jr.
28. Jayden Daniels
29. Bo Nix
30. J.J. McCarthy

Florio asked the obvious question, seeing Daniels was drafted second, why did Simms rank Penix Jr. ahead of Daniels?

“Because my quarterback rankings are where I think they are going to be two or three years down the road. I don’t want to judge it all right now about the rookie year.”

“I think Penix has played a little more of the pro way,” continued Simms. “Jayden Daniels, I think there is going to be a little bit more of an adjustment at first. The offense he played in college? I think there is going to be more of a versatility to the offense that he is going to get used to.”

“We know he is a special runner and all that, but he’s got to grow as far as being in the pocket. Guys like Bo Nix and Caleb Williams are better scramblers to throw the ball than Jayden Daniels.”

“He (Daniels) could learn to slide in the right places and maybe be a little more patient in the pocket, too.”

“My belief is that Jayden Daniels will be better at some point, but at this moment, with this exercise, I take it like we are in Week 1 or 2 in the regular season. I think Michael Penix is a little further along as far as being NFL-ready right now.”

Well, Daniels is going to be playing, so he will, thus, have every opportunity to prove Simms wrong in his evaluation that Penix is more ready to play.

What are the Commanders getting in Jayden Daniels?

So, it is indeed, Jayden Daniels, who the Commanders selected with their first selection in the 2024 NFL draft.

What do the Commanders get in selecting Jayden Daniels?

“Washington is going to get everything out of me,” said Daniels on NFL Network, only two minutes after he was drafted.

They receive a very awarded player. Daniels has won the Heisman Trophy, Walter Camp Player of the Year, Davey O’Brien Award, and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.

Daniels was also a finalist for the Maxwell Award, a First-team Associated Press All-American. SEC Offensive Player of the Year and First-team All-SEC.

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He was a captain at LSU, and in his last season (2023) Daniels threw 40 passing TDs (4 INTs), for 3,812 passing yards, including an impressive with 72.2 completion percentage. Running the ball Daniels accumulated 1,134 rushing yards (8.4 YPC) with 10 rushing TDs. Only player in FBS history to throw for 12,000 yards and rush for 3,000 yards in a college career.

In fairness, they also get an underweight quarterback who declined to be weighed at the Combine until his camp could put enough weight on him to reach 210 pounds at the LSU Pro Day. Perhaps Daniels will immediately begin a program helping him to gain muscle and good body weight.

The Commanders also receive a quarterback who can really move on his feet. Daniels can extend plays, and can also make huge gains when a lane opens for him.

Perhaps the biggest positive of the night is the reminder that five years ago, the previous owner entered the Redskins draft room and basically discarded all the thousands of hours of scouting and player evaluations by his paid staff so that he, the owner, could select a quarterback because he went to high school with the owner’s son.

It is a new era in Washington. No more Daniel Snyder, no more Bruce Allen. Adam Peters, the new GM, has made his first draft choice for the Commanders. That in itself may be a cause to celebrate.

Tonight was the fourth time Washington selected second in the NFL draft this century: LaVar Arrington (2000), Robert Griffin (2012), and Chase Young (2020).