Commanders Draft: 'Patience, Communication, and Honesty' Needed for Young Quarterback

Building off the experience of others like coach Zac Taylor of the Cincinnati Bengals the Washington Commanders can learn what it takes to make a young quarterback successful.

ORLANDO -- The Washington Commanders are drafting a quarterback early in this year's NFL Draft, the question really is, which one?

It isn't likely to be USC's Caleb Williams and recent reports suggest the Commanders may have already settled on LSU's Jayden Daniels even as coach Dan Quinn admits the team is listening to calls for their No. 2 overall pick.

Regardless of when the quarterback is drafted and who it is, Washington should already be well into its preparation for welcoming and nurturing a rookie who is going to have more pressure on him than any the franchise has welcomed in the past decade-plus.

Jayden Daniels

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Not since Robert Griffin III was drafted out of Baylor will one first round pick arrive to this franchise with the level of expectation he is about to carry. Not dissimilar to the 'franchise hero' label Joe Burrow had when he jumped from LSU to the NFL in 2020.

His coach, and one of the key facilitators to Burrow's early success, Zac Taylor spoke with Commander Country at the NFL's Annual Meeting about what it takes for an organization to facilitate a similar level of success.

"You want to have great pieces around him to where he can lean on some of those pieces," Taylor said when looking back to how his staff helped Burrow find early success in his career. "Patience is always key for the coaching staff. Communication, making sure that you and the quarterback are on the same page and that they're being honest with you on things they understand and things they don't understand. It all blends together, they're all equally important."

Despite dealing with several unfortunate injuries Burrow has been one of the better young quarterbacks the NFL has seen enter the league in a while. In his second year, and first post-COVID, he helped lead the Bengals to their first Super Bowl appearance in over 30 years.

With Washington facing a similar drought the franchise is hoping a young quarterback will help it get back to the NFL's final contest of the year, and perhaps even come out victorious where Cincinnati, Taylor, and Burrow fell short.

Facing a now similar drought between Super Bowl appearances, perhaps it's time for another LSU quarterback to come in and make a franchise-changing difference.