Tis the season for draft drama.
The Commanders have been wildly speculated to be in line to take LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels with the second overall pick. Washington needs a quarterback, and the reigning Heisman Trophy winner has vaulted up draft boards to emerge as a top-three prospect.
But of course, there would be no fun in the draft if everything went off without a hitch. And a week before the draft, Daniels' agent is adding some drama. ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio and Chris Simms were discussing the decision by the Commanders to bring in all of the top four quarterbacks at the same time rather than meet with them individually. Daniels' agent, Ron Butler, shared the pondering emoji.
— Ron Butler (@Agentbutler1) April 18, 2024
Additionally, he also liked a pair of tweets that called out the quad-quarterback meeting.
So we’re just supposed to ignore the liked comments? If it was just 🤔 we wouldn’t be making a big deal. pic.twitter.com/Pdis5GA3fo
— #AdamPeters🐐 (@DMVCommanders) April 18, 2024
MORE: Tracking latest Jayden Daniels draft rumors
Would Daniels and Butler be able to prevent Washington from drafting him? Here's what you need to know.
Why Commanders could still draft Jayden Daniels
Players have tried to force their way out of a team before. The most notable example was Eli Manning, who was drafted by the Chargers in 2004. He did not want to play for San Diego, and the Giants wound up trading the No. 4 pick and three other draft picks to the Chargers to acquire Manning.
There was speculation Caleb Williams would try to force his way past the Bears at No. 1 or get Chicago to trade down. But now, it appears he is all but certain to go first overall to Chicago.
There was speculation in 2020 that Joe Burrow would try to get past the Bengals at No. 1. He has since become the highest-paid player in NFL history and become a staple in Cincinnati.
There's no evidence either Williams or Burrow ever actually tried to pull a Manning and force their way out of being the first overall pick. But just as Burrow wound up going to Cincinnati, Williams is likely to be in Chicago. Similarly, Daniels hasn't put anything out there suggesting he wouldn't play for the Commanders. This type of narrative often runs rampant around the draft, particularly with the top players in the draft, but it rarely comes to fruition.
MORE: Where does Daniels land in QB-only mock draft?
That Butler is sending out the message, knowing full well the signal it will publicly send, is different from the situations with Williams and Burrow. It could be a sign the Daniels camp is going to try and pull off what Manning did. It could be posturing. It could just be a camp wanting to let the team know they were unhappy with how the four-player interview process went.
Ultimately, if the Commanders decide to pick Daniels, there won't be much the Daniels camp can do to stop it. He can either sign with Washington or refuse to sign and wait until 2025 to re-enter the draft and try again.
The tweet will certainly kick off some speculation about whether Daniels wants to go to Washington. But if Washington wants him, he's all but certainly going to be suiting up for the Commanders.
