With the second overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Washington Commanders selected Jayden Daniels from LSU, but he's clearly not the right selection. A second-round prospect with concerning qualities, Jayden Daniels finds himself going second overall to the Commanders, making him the first pick of the Adam Peters and Dan Quinn era.
Daniels is a bit undersized and doesn't possess anything special in terms of arm strength. He's already 23 years old and had just one notable year in college, which was this last season at LSU, where he tossed 40 touchdowns against four interceptions. The 2023 Heisman Trophy winner can certainly make the splash play, but isn't that special from inside the pocket.
also this is Jayden Daniels' pressure response. This is legitimately crazy. I've never had a QB prospect under 40% stand and deliver before, and certainly not a Round 1 guy. https://t.co/VtRiMX5hTO pic.twitter.com/9pppboSa9s
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) April 17, 2024
This chart from Ben Solak is how Jayden Daniels performs when he's under pressure. A whopping 23% of the time, he gets sacked, and he's only able to "stand and deliver" from the pocket 36.7% of the time when facing pressure. He's someone who could be a classic case of the one-year college wonder, and the Commanders currently do not have much on offense for him to work with besides Terry McLaurin.
Washington is clearly putting all of their chips of the table for Daniels, and it might blow up in their faces. This will end up being the wrong selection for the team, as there are three more talented quarterbacks still on the board. With Marcus Mariota being signed to the Commanders this offseason, Washington does at least have a quality veteran presence to share the room with Daniels.
As of now, you can probably expect Jayden Daniels to start Week 1 of the 2024 NFL Season for the Washington Commanders, playing in an NFC East that lacks high-end QB play besides Dak Prescott. Did general manager Adam Peters get this selection correct?