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Tedy Bruschi: Jayden Daniels Is the Best Rookie QB I've Ever Seen

ESPN analyst has never seen anything like this before.

Kyle Koster

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) throws during the second quarter of a NFC wild card playoff against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium.
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) throws during the second quarter of a NFC wild card playoff against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
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Jayden Daniels added to his already impressive rookie campaign by perfectly executing a late drive to set up a game-winning field goal as the Washington Commanders went on the road and vanquished the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It will be an extremely fun day for him to watch television as pundits will surely lather on the much-deserved praise. Peter Schrager was out of the gates early with the classic This Guy's a Dude proclamation.

On Get Up, Tedy Bruschi went even further in his assessment.

"The rookie rules don't apply," Bruschi said. "They don't apply to this guy. I've never seen something like this. Thirteen years as a player, 16 years as an analyst here, this is the best rookie quarterback I've seen."

Mike Greenberg added another layer to the conversation by mentioning previous rookies from Bruschi's era that hit the ground running winning playoff games and pointing out a crucial differece. Ben Roethlisberger's Steelers and Mark Sanchez's Jets were defense-based sides that asked their young signal-caller to manage more than make magic.

"This team is built completely around Jayden Daniels," Greenberg said. "He has put this team on his back in a way that no rookie has done in recent memory."

Daniels has a shot to elevate himself into another stratosphere by going into Detroit and earning a spot in the NFC championship game. The Commanders are heavy underdogs but they've exceeded expectations all season. To the point where betting against Daniels feels a bit scary.

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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