Tag: Jayden Daniels a hard worker

Commanders QB receiving some love from ESPN’s ‘Get Up’

One former NFL player believes Jayden Daniels will have a better rookie season than Caleb Williams.

Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels received some moral support this week on ESPN’s “Get Up.”

The subject matter was NFL quarterbacks when Anthony “Booger” McFarland, an NFL veteran of eight seasons with the Buccaneers and one with the Colts, interjected his strong opinion.

“Don’t be surprised if midway through the season, we’re having a conversation that is very similar to what he had last year. Meaning, the number two pick, Jayden Daniels, looks better than the number one pick, Caleb Williams.”

“Just like last year with C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young. There are a lot of people out of Washington telling me this young man Jayden Daniels, not only does he look the part, but his teammates know he looks the part. Caleb Williams will struggle and I think Jayden Daniels will come out of the gate flying.”

“We’ll have this conversation, Greeny, mark it down, July 16 (whatever day this is). We are going to have this conversation again.”

McFarland was referring, first of all, to history. Indeed, the Carolina Panthers chose Bryce Young (Alabama) first, while the Houston Texans selected C.J. Stroud (Ohio State) second.

Stroud had a very good rookie season, while Young struggled. Consequently, by season’s end, it was unanimous across NFL circles that Stroud, not Young, had the better season.

Secondly, McFarland did not depend on logic or reports from either the Bears camp or the Commanders. His main ingredient was hope.

You see, those who may not be old enough to recall him in college, McFarland was a fine defensive tackle for the LSU Tigers before being drafted by the Buccaneers.

Commanders Wire would certainly love to see Daniels have a much better season than Williams. However, we also recognize that McFarland is simply looking out for his fellow LSU Tiger, and his bias is coming through loudly and clearly.

But we still hope he is correct about Daniels.

Former NFL GM not high on Commanders’ quarterback

The former GM said the Commanders are doing everything possible to make sure Jayden Daniels starts Week 1.

“They signed Marcus Mariota as a backup quarterback. And we all know what he is; he’s a backup at best.”

That was what former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said when asked about the Commanders’ quarterback situation for this 2024 season.

Spielman, a guest of Ryan Wilson on the CBS Sports Network, was asked about each of the quarterbacks drafted in the first round of April 2024’s NFL draft.

He continued, “He’s struggled every time he has had to start. New regime coming in, new GM, new head coach, new offensive coordinator. They will do everything they can to get him (Jayden Daniels) prepared to start Week 1.”

Wilson then responded, “Here’s something Dan (Quinn) said recently talking about Jayden, ‘He’s further along than he probably should be.’

Wilson interjected, “That’s high praise for this time of year, even though you haven’t seen him take a hit. Because you can tell whether he knows the playbook or not.”

Back to Quinn’s evaluation of Daniels: “There’s no doubt that Jayden’s making unbelievable progress. It was really clear that he has put the work in.”

Kliff Kingsbury (offensive coordinator) added, “He has a really high football IQ. He understands protections. I’ve been really impressed by that. A lot of guys come into the league, and that’s not an area they major in in college.”

Spielman added he was impressed with Daniels coming in at 5:45 in the mornings to get in more mental reps in the new offense he is learning. Wilson then added that tackle Andrew Wylie and receiver Terry McLaurin have both been pleased with Daniels’ work ethic and leadership.

The experienced Spielman then warned their viewers that it is yet to be determined how good Daniels will be on the football field. “I mean, is anyone saying, ‘You know, we have a horse crap football team coming out to OTA’s and minicamps. We are packing it in’.”

For their complete dialog regarding this discussion of other first-round quarterback selections, you can watch here.