Why did Commanders draft Jayden Daniels? Dynamic play, fit in offense, RG3 comparisons make LSU QB No. 2 pick

The Commanders' pursuit of a quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft was much like Alexander Hamilton's fictionalized pursuit of the Schuyler sisters in the musical "Hamilton."

It wasn't so much a question about if the Commanders would take a quarterback; it was about which one.

Caleb Williams was heavily favored to be the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, so that gave Washington its pick between the other remaining first-round signal-callers.

This turned into a three-horse race, with Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, and even J.J. McCarthy drawing consideration as the draft's No. 2 overall pick.

But on Thursday night, the Commanders finally made their choice. They decided to roll with Daniels, and the LSU product will now look to become the team's first franchise quarterback in decades.

Washington's decision wasn't all too surprising. The LSU product had emerged in recent weeks as the favorite to be the No. 2 selection. Here's why that was the case as Washington puts to bed the rumors surrounding the second selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.

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Why did the Commanders draft Jayden Daniels over Drake Maye, J.J. McCarthy?

Daniels won the battle to be the No. 2 overall selection for a few reasons, most notably that he's a great fit for Kliff Kingsbury's offense.

Kingsbury has often looked for quarterbacks with big arms and great mobility during his college and professional careers. He coached Patrick Mahomes at Texas Tech and was part of the Cardinals contingent that selected Kyler Murray No. 1 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Daniels has drawn comparisons to Lamar Jackson and Robert Griffin III as a runner, so it's no surprise that Kingsbury prefers his dynamic scrambling ability to what Maye and McCarthy offer. While the UNC and Michigan products can move, they won't be the same type of running threat as Daniels.

It also helps that Daniels is the most experienced of the three quarterbacks in the mix for the pick. He was a five-year starter at Arizona State and LSU and broke out during his time in Baton Rouge. That made him among the most pro-ready passers even if he has some areas to clean up at the NFL level.

Daniels isn't just the more experienced quarterback; he also had the best season among the group of three quarterbacks in the running for the second pick. He won the Heisman Trophy in 2023 after completing 72.2 percent of his passes for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns, and four interceptions. He also added 1,134 rushing yards, bringing his season totals to just shy of 5,000 yards with 50 total touchdowns.

Some talent evaluators have singled out Daniels as the best quarterback prospect in this year's draft class, even ahead of Williams.

"If I was picking, I would pick Jayden Daniels No. 1," an AFC scout told NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. "Better athlete. I think he loves football more. I believe that he's just a better f—ing player. And I think he's on the rise and Caleb's kind of going lateral."

Thus, it's easy to understand why the Commanders wanted to land the LSU quarterback here. In many draft classes, Daniels would be the No. 1 overall pick, but thanks to Williams' presence in the draft, Washington is getting a solid value with the No. 2 selection.

MORE: Full scouting report of Jayden Daniels and how he compares to Lamar Jackson

How Jayden Daniels compares to Robert Griffin III

The last time Washington took a quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick came when it selected Robert Griffin III in the 2012 NFL Draft. Ironically Daniels has drawn comparisons to Griffin throughout the 2024 NFL Draft process.

The reason? It's all about Daniels' running style, which multiple executives compared to Griffin's rushing abilities, per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

Like Griffin, Daniels is a fast downhill runner who should be one of the league's top running quarterbacks. He doesn't have the high-level elusiveness that some other scramblers, like Lamar Jackson, possess, but he should still be among the most threatening running quarterbacks league-wide.

Daniels' pitfall is similar to Griffin's in that he doesn't always take great care of himself while running. The LSU product too often took big hits during his college days, so he will need to better learn when to slide and run out of bounds to protect himself. That's something Griffin had to learn on the fly after tearing his ACL in the playoffs during his rookie season.

Griffin's injury is a cautionary tale for Daniels, as Griffin's overall abilities regressed once his mobility was sapped. The good news for Washington fans is that Daniels largely stayed healthy during his college career, so he comes with less injury baggage than Griffin, who tore his ACL during his sophomore season in 2009.

Daniels is also a more polished passer than Griffin having spent an extra season in college. That said, Griffin was a better deep-ball passer in his heydey, so the LSU product won't have the same effect on Washington's vertical passing game that Griffin had (at least not right away).

The comparison between the two prospects isn't perfect, but Daniels can learn some valuable lessons about protecting himself from Griffin's plight. Griffin was a supremely talented prospect whose prime was cut short by injury issues. Daniels needs to make sure the same isn't said of him by avoiding unnecessary hits as both a runner and a passer.

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Jayden Daniels stats

Daniels played three seasons at Arizona State before transferring to LSU for his final two years. He was a full-time starter in each of his five seasons, playing a total of 55 games during his college career.

Daniels performed well across his first two seasons with the Sun Devils, the second of which lasted just four games because of the COVID-19 pandemic. His third season was more difficult — he threw 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions — and that prompted his transfer to LSU.

Daniels was an efficient passer in his first season at LSU before exploding during the 2023 season. He won the Heisman Trophy and racked up just under 5,000 total yards with an even 50 touchdowns. 

LSU didn't quite make a College Football Playoff run with Daniels, but he led the Tigers to a more-than-respectable 20-7 record during his two seasons as a starter.

Below is a look at Daniels' passing stats from each of his five seasons with the Sun Devils and Tigers:

Here's a look at Daniels' rushing numbers with each team:

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Commanders QB depth chart

Daniels is expected to start at quarterback for the Commanders, who are now four-deep at the position.

Below is how their depth chart looks after selecting Daniels:

It's possible that Washington could start Mariota at the beginning of the season if they want to give Daniels more time to acclimate to Kingsbury's offense. Mariota has a 34-40 record in 74 starts with the Titans and Falcons.

But if Daniels is ready to go, he should spend his rookie season learning on the fly at the NFL level. It will be interesting to see if he can help accelerate Washington's rebuild and get them into the NFC wild-card race.