Commanders might be doing QB-needy teams a favor with their pick in NFL Draft

If the Washington Commanders are locked in on LSU quarterback and Heisman winner Jayden Daniels, it's possible they could be doing all of the other QB-needy teams in this year's draft a huge favor. With all due respect to Daniels, who has improved as much as any QB prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft class, there was a statistic recently revealed that could be detrimental to Daniels having a true long-term future in the NFL.

Of course, there's no reason to write a eulogy on a guy's NFL career before he even gets a chance. You hope for the best for someone like Daniels. This, however, is a rather staggering metric.

We all know that a big part of Daniels' game is making plays with his legs, but this pie chart shows that Daniels stands tall in the pocket to deliver a pass less than 37 percent of the time. According to Benjamin Solak, who is charting these statistics, it's the lowest he's ever evaluated.

NFL quarterbacks have to be able to win from the pocket in order to have longevity in the league. That's been proven time and time again. Having the ability to escape pressure and get outside the pocket is one thing, but rarely standing and delivering a throw is another entirely. Combine that with the fact that another knock on Daniels's game is the fact that he's a little bit reckless with his body as a runner, and perhaps you'll have QB-needy teams around the league thankful that the Commanders are leaving guys like Drake Maye and JJ McCarthy on the board.

Again, this is not to totally diminish what Daniels is good at, or to spell certain doom for his pro career before it gets started. This is simply a startling statistic when you are talking about a long-term projection and possibly investing a top 2-3 pick in a player.

Nobody is a finished product at this stage, but it's worth noting that Daniels is also one of the older quarterbacks being projected in the top five of the 2024 NFL Draft. He's 23 and will turn 24 before the end of his rookie year. In other words, how much can you expect him to change this part of his game? Can you teach Daniels to stand and deliver in the pocket more frequently?

Then again, how much should a team like the Commanders really worry about it when Daniels can do things like this?

There is no doubt that he's a special talent, but if teams are hellbent on their quarterback winning from the pocket a majority of the time, then they might be okay if the Commanders take Daniels off the board and leave Maye and McCarthy.