So far, Washington Commanders rookie passer Jayden Daniels is running away with the title of best in class.
No pun intended, either.
Yes, Daniels has scored two rushing touchdowns and averages 5.1 yards per carry over his team’s 1-1 start. But he’s also just simply played smart football, completing 75.5 percent of his 53 attempts for 410 yards while not turning the ball over.
That might not sound like much, but he’s pacing better than any other rookie passer in the league right now, a notion put forth not just by fans, but Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer:
“Through two weeks, Jayden Daniels has been the best of the rookie quarterbacks—and by a pretty healthy margin. He’s protected the ball, survived hits and led drives to game-tying and game-winning field goals for the Washington Commanders against the New York Giants Sunday. Some rookies look like fish out of water to begin with. Daniels very clearly hasn’t.”
Elsewhere, first-overall pick Caleb Williams has completed 56.1 percent of his 66 attempts while averaging four yards per attempt with two interceptions for the 1-1 Chicago Bears. For the winless Denver Broncos, Bo Nix, the No. 12 pick, has completed 59.7 percent with four interceptions.
Right now, the competition isn’t the best in this regard, especially with notables like third-overall pick Drake Maye watching from the sidelines in Foxboro.
Either way, Daniels has provided fans with a super-encouraging start, especially for a rookie stuck on a team that is clearly only in the very early stages of rebuilding around him for the long term.
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