In one possession of his first preseason game, Jayden Daniels electrified the fans of an organization that has spent the last few seasons in the sewer.
According to The Athletic, Daniels took unexpected risks on a few plays, leading the Commanders’ drive to a Daniels touchdown. There was the dime to Dyami Brown. There was the touchdown run when he kept the ball after a play-action fake.
The responsible piece of me says this could raise some red flags. Then there’s the piece that says you need a quarterback with an ego that lives on the border of brilliance and recklessness.
What’s important is how Kliff Kingsbury handles the play-calling with a confident quarterback with some weapons. Kingsbury came to Washington after parting ways with the Arizona Cardinals. Questions about his relationship with Kyler Murray impacted the organization’s lack of success.
As for head coach Dan Quinn, if he’s the typical NFL head coach and there’s no reason to think he’s not, then Daniels has already had a “talking to.”
In another generation, it was Brett Favre. In today’s generation, Pat Mahomes and Josh Allen.
Quarterbacks on their initial rookie deal is the biggest bargain in the league today. With a new ownership group, coach, and offensive coordinator, it’s hard to tell how this will go, but Washington will seek to make as many strides as possible while they have Daniels on the low end of what he could potentially make.
Nothing counts until September 8th. That’s when Daniels’ scrutiny begins. If Daniels changes plays and they blow up, the cries that Washington should have drafted a different quarterback will start. Even worse, there could be calls for Marcus Mariota.
But if Daniels starts making plays and Washington looks like it has the right quarterback without Daniel Snyder here to mess it up, it will galvanize a football city just waiting for anything to get excited about.
