The moment Commanders knew Jayden Daniels was different

There are three ways a second-year quarterback can enter the season: with full support, a split group with some believing a slump is coming, or with everyone already believing the experiment should come to an end. For Washington Commanders star quarterback Jayden Daniels, you’d think his situation leaned heavily toward the positive, but there remains a group of onlookers who at least fear a regression is bound to come.

Even if only because Daniels’s rookie season with the Commanders was so good, there remains doubt about the quarterback taking a sophomore leap. Part of that concern is also tied to the remnants of the stigma that followed offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury back into the NFL, that his offense eventually gets figured out.

The Foundation of Trust

In year one together, the two appeared to get figured out for a period, but eventually broke loose of those whispers that began to form into openly spoken worries and finished the regular season strong, leading to an even more impressive postseason run. Despite Daniels being a rookie, Kingsbury installed an environment of communication within his Washington offense; one that valued input from players as much as it demanded respect for guidance from coaches. Now, in year two, not only is Daniels looking to improve his physical gifts, he’s looking to build on the open lines of communication he and his play-caller established last season.

“This year, I'll tell him like, ‘I'd rather, I think I'd rather do this than that’,” Daniels explained. “He would just go with it because at the end of the day, we both want to win.”

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5). | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Moment Trust Was Forged

It takes more than a shared desire to win; it takes trust. That trust Kingsbury put in his quarterback came early, as early as Week 3 of 2024, when the quarterback asked to dial up a specific play in primetime on the road against a team expected to be a top challenger in the AFC. Not only did Kingsbury hear him, but he also did what the quarterback asked. That trust that many would argue Daniels hadn’t earned yet was rewarded by a Terry McLaurin touchdown, and a Monday Night Football victory that many viewed as Daniels’ coming out party.

Trust in Daniels only grew from there, and eventually it became a full-blown belief in the young quarterback. Because of it, general manager Adam Peters spent much of his offseason looking for ways to elevate Daniels even further.

One of those avenues Peters took was to trade for left tackle Laremy Tunsil, a teammate Daniels says is “very quiet, but also a smooth dude.” Daniels also shared how happy he was the Commanders traded for the five-time Pro Bowler, and that “it puts a smile on my face.”

You might think it’s easy to have trust in talent like Daniels’s, but it takes more than that, really.

More Than a Football Player

There has to be a belief in the man because at the end of the day, pads or no pads, the man is always going to be there. Daniels shares that his desire to be someone others can look to isn’t just a football thing; it’s a 24/7 pursuit to be the best man he can be.

“I want people to just talk good about me when I'm not around, in the room,” Daniels said. “Outside of just me being a football player, as a role model and somebody in the community, that's kind of the biggest thing.”

He’s achieved what he’s set out to accomplish thus far. You’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who has interacted with Daniels who doesn’t come away impressed. In that way, the quarterback does fit into the positive extreme of expectations entering year two.

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