Tag: Jayden Daniels

Commanders GM Adam Peters doesn’t see trading down from the No. 2 pick

It sure sounds like Adam Peters is staying at No. 2 and selecting his quarterback.

Washington general manager Adam Peters and his assistant GM, Lance Newmark, met with the assembled media in Ashburn on Thursday to answer questions in the annual pre-draft press conference.

No one expected Peters to reveal any top secrets in his meeting with the media. While he is always positive and humble in his dealings with the media, he is also tight-lipped. The biggest mystery in the 2024 NFL draft is what the Commanders will do at No. 2 overall.

We do know one thing they will not be doing, and that’s trading down. Here’s what Peters said about potentially moving down from No. 2 overall.

We feel great about staying at No. 2,” Peters said. “I don’t see a whole lot of scenarios where we’d trade down, to be honest.”

That’s as close to a definite as you’ll hear from Peters. Yes, draft season is “lying season,” but the Commanders have a unique opportunity to find a franchise quarterback in the same year they hired a new GM and coaching staff. Why trade down and risk losing one of the top options at the most important position in sports?

Washington will choose between Jayden Daniels (LSU), Drake Maye (North Carolina) and J.J. McCarthy (Michigan) next Thursday night. USC quarterback Caleb Williams is expected to go No. 1 overall to the Chicago Bears.

With so many teams looking to move into the top five to select a quarterback, the Commanders could receive a haul by trading their pick, but they have the same problem as the teams trying to make a move up the draft board: They don’t have a quarterback.

 

2024 NFL mock draft: HC Green

QBs and WRs dominate the latest mock draft from The Huddle.

HC Green’s first mock draft of 2024 is now out. Sound off on social media and let us know what you think.

We’ll be unveiling several more mock drafts leading up to the real thing, so be sure to check back with our 2024 NFL Draft Central page to keep track of all of our offerings.

*projected trade

2024 NFL Mock Draft: Round 1

Pick NFL team Pos Player School
1 Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams USC
2 Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels LSU
3 New England Patriots QB Drake Maye North Carolina
4 Arizona Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr. Ohio State
5 Minnesota Vikings (from LAC)* QB J.J. McCarthy Michigan
6 New York Giants WR Malik Nabers LSU
7 Tennessee Titans OT Joe Alt Notre Dame
8 Atlanta Falcons EDGE Dallas Turner Alabama
9 Chicago Bears WR Rome Odunze Washington
10 New York Jets TE Brock Bowers Georgia
11 Los Angeles Chargers (from MIN)* OT JC Latham Alabama
12 Denver Broncos OT Olumuyiwa Fashanu Penn State
13 Las Vegas Raiders CB Terrion Arnold Alabama
14 New Orleans Saints IOL Troy Fautanu Washington
15 Indianapolis Colts CB Quinyon Mitchell Toledo
16 Seattle Seahawks DL Byron Murphy II Texas
17 Jacksonville Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr. LSU
18 Cincinnati Bengals OT Taliese Fuaga Oregon State
19 Los Angeles Rams EDGE Jared Verse Florida State
20 Pittsburgh Steelers OT Graham Barton Duke
21 Miami Dolphins EDGE Laiatu Latu UCLA
22 Philadelphia Eagles OT Amarius Mims Georgia
23 Los Angeles Chargers (from HOU>MIN)* WR Adonai Mitchell Texas
24 Dallas Cowboys OT Tyler Guyton Oklahoma
25 Green Bay Packers CB Cooper DeJean Iowa
26 Tampa Bay Buccaneers CB Nate Wiggins Clemson
27 Arizona Cardinals (from HOU) EDGE Chop Robinson Penn State
28 Buffalo Bills WR Xavier Worthy Texas
29 Detroit Lions IOL Jackson Powers-Johnson Oregon
30 Baltimore Ravens CB Kool-Aid McKinstry Alabama
31 Las Vegas Raiders (from SF)* QB Michael Penix Jr. Washington
32 Kansas City Chiefs WR Ladd McConkey Georgia

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Vikings flying down to Baton Rouge to visit Jayden Daniels

NFL teams are wrapping up visits with prospects and the Vikings are following up a private workout with Jayden Daniels with a dinner.

NFL teams are wrapping up visits with prospects as we are just seven days away from the 2024 NFL Draft. Workouts are done but dinners are still able to be had, in steps the Minnesota Vikings brass.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reported on Thursday morning the team would be traveling to Baton Rouge to see LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels. Many expect the reigning Heisman Trophy winner to be taken second overall by the Washington Commanders. Despite that, the Vikings are showing they are doing all the homework they can on this quarterback class.

Aside from Daniels, the team has done private workouts or visits with Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy as well. Draft pundits and fans alike have it almost in stone. The team is trading up for one of them, but that has proved to be easier said than done.

Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has been vocal about the need, but he has also made it known the team is ready for Sam Darnold to be their guy. A very busy seven days are ahead for everyone involved within and around the franchise.

Daniel Jeremiah believes Commanders are ‘prime candidate’ to move back into 1st round

Jeremiah believes the Commanders will come back into the first round for an offensive tackle.

You know it’s NFL draft time when NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah holds his annual pre-draft conference call, during which he answers questions from the media.

The Washington Commanders were a popular topic on Jeremiah’s call. Why? Because Washington is essentially starting over with a new owner (Josh Harris), general manager (Adam Peters) and head coach (Dan Quinn). After a solid free agency where the Commanders signed over 20 players to bolster a 4-13 roster, Jeremiah feels they are poised to make a splash in next week’s draft.

Washington’s first pick is at No. 2 overall, where it’s likely to choose between a pair of quarterbacks: Jayden Daniels (LSU) or Drake Maye (North Carolina).

The Commanders are next on the clock at No. 36, the first of their two second-round selections. This is where things get interesting, according to Jeremiah.

“I think they’re a prime candidate to come back up and try and scoop up one of these tackles,” Jeremiah said. “If you’ve got Amarius Mims (Georgia), who’s floating around there in the teens, they have plenty of ammunition to be aggressive and go get a starting offensive tackle. That, to me, is something I would keep an eye on. I don’t see them standing pat and sticking there at 36 and 40. I think you’ll see them try and make a move and address the offensive line.”

We’ve discussed this throughout the offseason. When the Commanders didn’t address offensive tackle in free agency other than re-signing veteran Cornelius Lucas to serve as the swing tackle, it was clear they would target the position in an offensive tackle-rich draft. However, a run on the best tackles could begin in the teens, meaning if Washington wants to land one of the top options, it will need to move up.

The good news is that the Commanders hold six picks in the top 100, giving them plenty of ammunition for a move up the board.

While it’s mostly been speculation, Jeremiah almost said he expects the Commanders to make a move up the board. This is a good year for Washington to need an offensive tackle and have the draft capital to move up the board.

NBC Sports’ Connor Rogers sends Vikings interesting QB in latest mock

The Minnesota Vikings take Michael Penix over Jayden Daniels and J.J. McCarthy in the latest mock draft from Connor Rogers at NBC Sports.

The 2024 NFL draft is just a week away. We’re coming down the final stretch, and soon the endless onslaught of mock drafts will cease. But that day is not today! Instead, we have another mock draft from Connor Rogers at NBC Sports, and he has the Minnesota Vikings making an interesting pick at 11.

In his “What I do if I were the GM” mock draft, Rogers has the Vikings taking former Washington QB Michael Penix with the 11th pick. Here is what Rogers had to say on the selection:

Penix sees the field extremely well pre- and post-snap, while showing off a howitzer of an arm. His pocket passing ability would transition nicely to Kevin O’Connell’s offense, challenging all areas of the field with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.

What’s most interesting here isn’t the pick itself. There are some injury concerns with Penix, but overall he would be a good fit for head coach Kevin O’Connell and what he wants to do with the Vikings offense.

No, the interesting thing here is the Vikings taking Penix over the likes of LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels and Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Rogers has Daniels sliding to the Denver Broncos, one pick after the Vikings. As for McCarthy, Rogers doesn’t have him as a first round selection at all, which flies in the face of most of the buzz that has been surrounding both him and the Vikings heading into the draft.

 

Daniel Jeremiah takes strong stand on Commanders No. 2 pick

Jeremiah makes it clear that nobody knows what the Commanders are going to do.

Daniel Jeremiah has been around the block a few times.

Jeremiah is not new to the NFL draft or to the NFL draft buildup.

So, watching and listening to the media circus it becomes annually, Jeremiah did not hold back when he was asked about the Commanders’ No. 2 overall selection.

Jeremiah went as far as expressing to Scott Abraham (WJLA TV 7), “I’ve been connecting them (Commanders) with Drake Maye (North Carolina) for a long time…I think anybody that says they know exactly what Washington is doing is lying.”

Just last week Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd boldly stated that he had been told that Washington is going to select Jayden Daniels at the overall No. 2 position in the draft. Seeing Peters has yet to tell anyone, who told Cowherd?

ESPN’s Adam Schefter last week also expressed that all signs were pointing to the Commanders drafting Daniels with the second overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft.

We responded here on Commanders Wire asking if Commanders insiders John Keim, Ben Standig, Nicki Jhabvala, J.P Finlay and Sam Fortier all agree that Adam Peters is providing absolutely no signs right now, then how is it that Cowherd and Schefter know?

We also advised that some in the media were making too much of Daniels being invited for a visit. We explained that we were confident that Maye and McCarthy would also be invited for visits, and sure enough, they were.

Jeremiah is correct, and he is also brave enough to double down that others in his business don’t know what the Commanders are doing either.

Perhaps some in the business feel they need to present an image of having the inside scoop when they actually don’t.

As Adam Peters continues to hold his cards close to his chest, making any “signs” invisible to all concerned, might Jeremiah simply be more willing to be honest that he doesn’t know what Peters is going to do?

Is Jayden Daniels’ agent not happy with Commanders over group visit?

It doesn’t look like everyone was a fan of Washington’s decision to host multiple QB visits at one time.

We are approximately one week away from the first round of the 2024 NFL draft. Next Thursday night, the mystery of which quarterback the Washington Commanders will select second overall ends.

Wednesday was the final day all 32 NFL teams could host draft prospects on “top 30 visits.” Washington did things a little bit differently, hosting several prospects.

The day before the team met with the prospects in Ashburn, general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn organized an outing for the four quarterback prospects at Top Golf: Jayden Daniels (LSU), Drake Maye (North Carolina), J.J. McCarthy (Michigan) and Michael Penix Jr. (Washington).

It was unorthodox but not unheard of, as Peters did it in San Francisco with 49ers GM John Lynch.

The purpose of having the group visit was to see how the players interact with one another.

Some criticized the move, including Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk — who criticizes virtually everything. But apparently, Florio wasn’t the only one to criticize Washington’s decision to meet with multiple prospects on one visit.

Ron Butler of Agency 1 Sports represents Daniels and liked two tweets, including Florio’s, criticizing the Commanders.

It’s Butler’s page, and he can like, repost, or tweet what he wants. However, given the timing, it’s certainly interesting.

No one knows if Washington’s mind was made up before this week on which quarterback it will select. In all likelihood, Peters knows who he is taking, but outside of a select few, no one else does.

Can next week get here fast enough?

2024 NFL mock draft: Harley Schultz

Check out the newest mock draft from The Huddle!

Harley Schultz’s first mock draft of 2024 is now out. Sound off on social media and let us know what you think.

We’ll be unveiling several more mock drafts leading up to the real thing, so be sure to check back with our 2024 NFL Draft Central page to keep track of all of our offerings.

*projected trade

2024 NFL Mock Draft: Round 1

Pick NFL team Pos Player School
1 Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams USC
2 Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels LSU
3 Minnesota Vikings (from NE)* QB Drake Maye North Carolina
4 Arizona Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr. Ohio State
5 Los Angeles Chargers WR Malik Nabers LSU
6 New York Giants WR Rome Odunze Washington
7 Tennessee Titans OT Joe Alt Notre Dame
8 Atlanta Falcons EDGE Dallas Turner Alabama
9 Chicago Bears EDGE Jared Verse Florida State
10 New York Jets TE Brock Bowers Georgia
11 New England Patriots (from MIN)* QB J.J. McCarthy Michigan
12 Indianapolis Colts (from DEN)* CB Quinyon Mitchell Toledo
13 Dallas Cowboys (from LV)* WR Brian Thomas Jr. LSU
14 New Orleans Saints OT Taliese Fuaga Oregon State
15 Philadelphia Eagles (from IND>DEN)* IOL Jackson Powers-Johnson Oregon
16 Seattle Seahawks IOL Troy Fautanu Washington
17 Jacksonville Jaguars CB Terrion Arnold Alabama
18 Cincinnati Bengals OT Olumuyiwa Fashanu Penn State
19 Los Angeles Rams DL Byron Murphy II Texas
20 Pittsburgh Steelers OT JC Latham Alabama
21 Miami Dolphins OT Graham Barton Duke
22 Denver Broncos (from PHI)* QB Bo Nix Oregon
23 New England Patriots (from CLE>HOU>MIN)* OT Amarius Mims Georgia
24 Las Vegas Raiders (from DAL)* QB Michael Penix Jr. Washington
25 Green Bay Packers CB Cooper DeJean Iowa
26 Tampa Bay Buccaneers EDGE Laiatu Latu UCLA
27 Arizona Cardinals (from HOU) EDGE Chop Robinson Penn State
28 Buffalo Bills WR Adonai Mitchell Texas
29 Detroit Lions EDGE Darius Robinson Missouri
30 Baltimore Ravens CB Kool-Aid McKinstry Alabama
31 San Francisco 49ers DL Jer’Zhan Newton Illinois
32 Kansas City Chiefs CB Nate Wiggins Clemson

[lawrence-related id=488681]

Patriots reportedly ‘loved’ visits with these top QB prospects

The Patriots would be perfectly fine drafting either one of these two quarterbacks

The possibility might exist for a potential trade down scenario for the New England Patriots, but the offer would probably have to knock their socks off considering their dire quarterback situation and the fact that they “loved” their pre-draft visits with two prospects in particular.

NFL Network’s Peter Schrager put together his first mock draft with a little more than a week away from the 2024 NFL draft. There were some golden nuggets sprinkled throughout with him pulling from sources around the league.

When it came to the Patriots and the No. 3 pick, he had them staying put and taking North Carolina quarterback prospect Drake Maye, after the Washington Commanders went with Jayden Daniels. According to Schrager, the Patriots came away feeling positive about both Maye and Daniels, which puts them in a position to select whoever is still on the board when they’re on the clock.

Schrager wrote:

Despite lots of smoke that New England could trade down, I believe this new Patriots regime will be comfortable with either Jayden Daniels or Maye. Pats brass took Maye out for steaks the night before his Foxborough visit earlier this month, and those guys loved the Charlotte native. That said, they also loved their top-30 visit with Daniels. I think they’re fine with whichever one falls to them. New England also wined and dined QB J.J. McCarthy on Monday night, but I still see this selection being Daniels or Maye.

The Patriots are also doing a top-30 visit with Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. on Tuesday. Penix could be a possibility in a trade down scenario for New England.

However, given the struggles at quarterback and the rare opportunity to draft a future franchise signal-caller, it’s hard to see the Patriots making the decision to trade down. If they loved Daniels and Maye, it would make more sense for one of those players to be the choice on draft night.

Chris Cooley: How is Jayden Daniels not the Commanders pick?

Count Chris Cooley among those impressed with Jayden Daniels.

Former Washington Redskins tight end Chris Cooley appeared as a guest on the “Kevin Sheehan Show” podcast over the weekend, providing his film breakdown of Jayden Daniels.

Cooley began, “So I’m in my third game, and I’m like, this is like a walking highlight tape. You’re just watching throws…and it’s a highlight tape. It’s insane. Jayden Daniels is incredible.”

Pretty early Cooley commented on Daniels being exceptionally agile and knowing how to slide. “Except for when he doesn’t. Because he gets smoked. He’s gonna have to learn that…He knows how to slide. I think he’s just competitive as a runner. He gets freakin’ waxed in the first half of the Ole Miss game, which is a first half that is like 31-28 with unbelievable offense. But he got hit in the face so hard and fumbled and went up in the air…you gotta know that that’s not a hit you need to take. Especially a quarterback, and he took three or four in that game.”

Chris acknowledged Daniels only weighs 210 but quickly added he could gain weight and be up to 225 in two years.

“He can get through progressions, at least can read the defense and identify who’s going to be open and where they’re gonna be open and throw the ball in rhythm and timing that is relatable to that concept.”

“He’s good out of a bunch set. Layering the ball down the field over linebackers on some of the little run-action, play-action throws. To really drive it in over linebackers is awesome. I think he’s very accurate.”

“He takes some risks, but I think he also takes necessary risks in the moments of the game where you’re like, Oh, that’s a bad decision…But a lot of the times, I think he’s got a good flow for the game and how he’s managing exactly that.”

Cooley lauded Daniels ability to run not as good but dangerously good. “He’s obviously a massive problem when he gets out in the open field…It’s not like he’s gonna gain 8 to 12 yards and slide, but he can get you 45 to 50 and outrun the entire defense.”

Touch on the ball is something Cooley liked, but he did notice that Daniels does not possess the strongest of passing arms. “I don’t think he’s got a rifle. He can really let it go; he can throw a ball downfield and throw a ball downfield with a ton of arc – he does a great job on deep balls – but I don’t think he’s got a throw it across the field to 17 yards on a comeback gun. To me, that’s not what I see.”

Concluding his review, Cooley praised Daniels, “I thought overall he’s really freakin’ special. To me, he seemed an incredibly experienced college quarterback. He’s calm in the pocket; his demeanor is absolutely tremendous. He makes big-time throws…I think his discipline is good, his timing is good… he’s a walking freaking highlight reel.”

Cooley asked, “How is this not your pick?”