Washington Commanders select Jayden Daniels in first round of 2024 NFL Draft
The Washington Commanders have selected quarterback Jayden Daniels with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Daniels spent three seasons at Arizona State before transferring to LSU for the final two seasons of his collegiate career.
Daniels was spectacular in the 2023 campaign, completing 236-of-327 passes for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns with just four interceptions. He also rushed for 1,134 yards and another 10 scores. Daniels ultimately led the Tigers to a 9-3 regular season.
He became the first LSU Tiger to win the Heisman Trophy since Joe Burrow brought home the hardware in 2019. Daniels led the nation in total offense (4,946) in the regular season, touchdowns responsible for (50), passer rating (208.0), yards per pass attempt (11.7) and rushing yards by a quarterback (1,134).
In his five-year collegiate career, Daniels amassed 953 completions for 12,749 yards, 89 touchdowns and 20 interceptions while completing 66.3% of his passes. In the ground game, Daniels collected 3,307 rushing yards and 37 scores.
Jayden Daniels played high school football at Cajon (Calif.), where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 50 overall recruit in the 2019 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
What NFL Draft analysts are saying about Jayden Daniels
NFL insiders believe Daniels’ success won’t stop at the professional level. Ahead of the draft, NFL analyst Lance Zierlein raved about Daniels’ potential in the league while also providing a few critiques.
“With five seasons of starting experience under his belt, Daniels possesses a rare blend of playmaking talent and command from the pocket,” Zierlein said. “He’s tall but slender, so there will be concerns about durability, considering how often he ran in college. However, teams must also recognize that he has no issues sitting in the pocket and working through progressions as a platform thrower with good mechanics and footwork.
“Daniels possesses the football intelligence to get himself protected and take care of the football with quality decision-making. He’s an accurate passer over the first two levels and throws with anticipation to slice and dice zone coverages. He had noticeable issues putting deep throws on faster receivers in stride, though.
“He lacks ideal size and arm talent, but he’s much more capable as a runner and passer than most of the quarterbacks who have moved on to the next level lately. Daniels is positioned to become a very good NFL starter in a spread-based passing attack.”