The Future Is Now - Jayden Daniels Is Ready To Take Over The NFL

By Jason Bolton December 17, 2024 09:15

Patrick Smith / Getty Images

He may have been taken second overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, but that has been more of the Chicago Bears' mistake than anything to do with Jayden Daniels.

One of the NFL’s most promising young stars has the Commanders on pace to post their best record since they were named the Redskins and finished with a 10-6 record in 2012. Daniels’ rise from a high school prodigy to a collegiate player of the year and now the poster boy for the NFL’s future, defying the odds at every step along the way is a testament to the grit, talent, and perseverance saved for the best players in the league.

Growing up in San Bernardino, California, Daniels attended Cajon High School, where he would become the starting quarterback for the Cowboys despite weighing in at a scrawny 5’10”, 137 pounds. While injuries would hamper his freshman and sophomore seasons, Daniels finished his four-year high school career with over 14,000 passing yards, over 3,600 rushing yards, and 211 touchdowns.

With pinpoint passing skills and quick footwork, Daniels had many of the best colleges in the country knocking at his door, including Alabama, Georgia, Nebraska, Oregon, and USC. Daniels would ultimately head to Arizona State, a team without the prestige of the traditional favorites, betting on himself to help turn a program around.

Following an impressive freshman season in which he became the first freshman to start the season for the Sun Devils, Daniels led the Arizona State to the 2019 Sun Bowl title, Daniels would return to campus for what would be a COVID pandemic-shortened season in 2020. A year later Daniels guided the team to an 8-5 record and another Bowl appearance, this time falling to the Wisconsin Badgers in the Las Vegas Bowl.

With the Sun Devils undergoing a coaching change, Daniels entered the 2022 transfer portal, relocating to Louisiana State University. In two seasons with the Tigers (thanks to the extra season granted due to the pandemic), Daniels led LSU to a 19-7 record, and a victory in the Citrus Bowl while capturing numerous Player of the Year awards, including the 2023 Heisman Trophy. Daniels’ 16,000+ total yards and 123 touchdowns earned him a top ten ranking in FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) history.

Malik Nabers, the sixth pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and one of Daniels's favorite targets while playing with the Tigers noted the extra work that his teammate was putting in. “He was working extra, staying extra long, making sure we got the plays after practice. He was the ultimate leader. I think that’s what he changed. He became the ultimate leader and started leading by example, leading by vocalness and just taking the offense over.”

Although Caleb Williams was garnering all of the attention as the favorite for the first overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, Daniels was actually stepping into a better situation. Yes, being the second pick came with its own volume of pressure, but not nearly as much as being the first. And playing in Washington, it wasn’t as if the team was supposed to be good this season anyway.

Stepping into the starting role from day one, Daniels found his struggles during the first game, going 17-24, but throwing zero touchdowns in a 37-20 loss. But then something clicked as the Commanders, led by their young quarterback ran off four straight victories and seven in eight games and their first 7-2 start in twenty-eight years. Suddenly, the chatter of a Rookie of the Year award turned into an odds-on favorite for a Pro Bowl spot and an outside favorite for MVP considerations.

In his first twelve NFL games, Daniels recorded 2,500 passing yards and 500 rushing yards, a feat that only Cam Newton and Robert Griffin III managed. During the first thirteen weeks of the season, Daniels was named the Rookie of the Week eight times as he keeps the Commanders in contention for a playoff seed in the NFC.

While the Commanders are a major underdog to win the Super Bowl, betting against Daniels is something that he tends to welcome, continuing to prove doubters wrong. As the number of fans jumping on the Commanders bandwagon increases with each game and the analysts pile on the praise, even betting sites in Canada have started to realize that smart money is on Daniels continuing to defy expectations.

Although players like Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen dominate the current hierarchy of the MVP race as the league’s best quarterback, it is only a matter of when, not if, that Daniels finds his name atop the list.