ASHBURN, Va. — Jayden Daniels looked the same as he always has on the field. He smiled and laughed between drills; he even mimicked basketball moves on occasion — pump fakes before shooting and spinning around defenders. Then, once practice started, the second-year Washington Commanders quarterback threw the ball just like he had last season, when he set records and established himself as one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks.
The comments about him from coaches and teammates remained the same as well: He’s smart, he’s savvy, he’s in control.
It’s all what the Commanders expected to see during the first week of OTA practices last week, and it’s why they are excited to see what he does for an encore this season.
Best of NFL Nation
• Why Commanders expect an even better Daniels• Dallas counting on jump from LT Guyton• Engstrand trying to buck failed Jets OC trend• ATL’s Morris, Robinson bond at boxing match• Cards’ Burke grew up an Arizona fan
“He is very highly motivated, and that’s always exciting for the organization,” Washington offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said. “Just watching him move around, he’s not thinking as much, he’s playing fast and letting his natural gifts kind of take over, and that’s what we want to see. I expect him to take a big jump.”
That would take some work considering how he played in his first professional season. The No. 2 pick in 2024 earned NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors after passing for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns, and rushing for another 891 yards and six scores, while leading Washington to a 12-5 record and an appearance in the NFC Championship Game.
He also finished with the NFL’s fourth-highest total QBR.
This offseason, the Commanders made it a point to bolster the lineup around their star QB — trading for Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil and receiver Deebo Samuel, and drafting tackle Josh Conerly Jr. and receiver Jaylin Lane in the first four rounds. But it all starts with Daniels, who has continued to impress his coaches and teammates with his approach early in Year 2.
“The amount of work he puts in that goes unseen to get ready to play, to learn it, to teach others to … connect the guys,” Commanders coach Dan Quinn said, “there is no flinch in Jayden Daniels. He’s as focused and relentless as you could [be] about getting better. We appreciate that.”
Said Samuel, who has attended basketball games with Daniels and begun developing on-field chemistry with the QB: “He can make every throw, he’s comfortable, he knows where the ball should go. He’s very smart. [I’ve learned] how calm he is after watching him last year. The moment’s not too big for him. He’s a great player.”
Daniels’ on-field talent was obvious last season — namely his accuracy and running ability. But what also impressed teammates was the work he did on his own to prepare and improve. Last spring, he showed up at 5:45 a.m. each day. He continued the practice during the season, when he added walkthroughs with Kingsbury and quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard three days per week to perfect the game plan for the upcoming opponent.
But while Daniels’ focus and preparation has remained the same, his body has changed. Daniels looks more muscular than last season and has added weight, though he declined to say how much. There wasn’t a directive for him to bulk up or add muscle, he and others have said. They’ve called it a natural byproduct of working out, saying that last season, while preparing for the draft, there wasn’t as much time to work on his physique.
Another big difference in Daniels, said those around him, has been the velocity on his throws.
“I don’t think it was anything that we really said, ‘Hey, you’ve got to be this weight or that weight,'” Kingsbury said, “I mean, he knows what he has to do to protect himself and where he feels comfortable playing, but the arm strength, it looks better and you can tell he’s stronger, there’s no doubt.”
Editor’s Picks
2 Related
Though teammates have noticed, nobody expressed surprise, knowing the work Daniels puts in behind the scenes.
“He’s growing for sure. Every single day, that guy grows,” center Tyler Biadasz said. “And he keeps raising the bar for himself and for the team, and his leadership has been awesome throughout.
“He leads by example on the field but also in the weight room, too, like how he’s doing his workouts in the morning but just setting the tone early. He’s a big early bird. But, no, it’s been great for what he’s done, obviously coming off last year but also just in the great trajectory going into this year.”
There’s a reason Daniels has taken this approach. He didn’t revel in his accomplishments last season. He became known for quickly moving on from a play or a game, good or bad. Now he has moved on from what he did as a rookie. And he’ll need to: The Commanders play seven games against defenses that finished in the top 11 in yards allowed per game and nine games against teams that finished top 10 in scoring.
“I’ve got to go out there and prove myself every day, no matter if it was last season, this season, 10, 20 years down the road, you have to prove yourself each and every season,” Daniels said.
Nor has he changed how he lives off the field; save for a few trips to sporting events — some basketball games and a Washington Capitals game with teammates — he’s more of a homebody.
Catch up on the NFL offseason
• Offseason dates | OTAs and minicamps• 10 lingering questions | 2025 schedules• Draft pick analysis | Kiper’s draft grades• Free agency grades | Top remaining FAsDraft | Free agency | Coaching hires
“I’ve never been the type of individual that I could say looks for fame,” he said. “I am a very introverted individual, so I just live my life how I live it. I don’t really go to too many places, or I didn’t before that, so that isn’t going to change for me either.”
What also won’t change is the offensive coaching staff around him. Kingsbury, Pritchard & Co. are all back for another season — something Daniels says will help him smoothly transition from Year 1 to 2.
“The main thing is just being comfortable and familiar with the playcaller, familiar with how he calls plays,” Daniels said of Kingsbury. “You know what we are trying to accomplish play in and play out.”
So, while defenses try to figure out ways to defend Daniels, Washington — which Quinn says didn’t show all of its playbook last season — can’t wait to see what new it has in store for those opponents.
For Kingsbury, it’s about Daniels’ ownership of the offense. He said playing in the same system will allow Daniels to grow but also to, in some ways, coach it himself.
“You look traditionally through the NFL, the guys who’ve had a ton of success have been able to stay in those long term,” Kingsbury said, “just the comfort level and then being able to take ownership of it and understand it inside and out, where now you’re correcting people, you don’t even need the coaches. And he’s kind of getting to that point.”
