The Athletic’s Mike Jones went around the NFL with the Junks earlier this week, but on Thursday, it was all about Jayden Daniels when he caught up with a solo JP Finlay.
“I have been encouraged by what I've seen of him, and the way that he's being used,” Jones said. “I know everybody would love to see him have a great connection with Terry McLaurin right now, and I think that's going to come, but I like how they've done a good job of supporting him with a strong run game, they're working to get the ball out of his hands quickly, which you have to do when you have kind of a work-in-progress offensive line, and I like his instincts that I've seen so far. I know that causes a little angst as he runs, and he doesn't always get down as quickly as maybe some people would like, but I like what I've seen so far of him. Of the rookie quarterbacks that are playing right now, he looks the best of them for sure.”
Jones covered the Commanders for WaPo during the RG3 era, so he gets both the comparisons and PTSD some fans have from that time, which even JP brought up – and they agree that this time, it’s quite different in a much different game, so don’t worry as much about injury.
“We've seen him take off running, but I haven't seen anything that makes me think uh oh, I hope this isn’t another RG3,” Jones said. “They’re two different people with different styles. Robert was fast, but he wasn’t elusive, and I think Jayden is a little more slippery; his running style reminds me more of Lamar Jackson than Robert’s, because Robert could run fast but he didn't get away from people if they had the right angle. I don’t know that there's the same mentality that he would threaten his coach if they tried to pull him out or anything! I just think Jayden Daniels is a different type of guy; if he got injured, hopefully, he would listen to the trainers and not try to force his way onto the field because he was afraid of Kirk Cousins taking his job. I don't see those similarities, and I think that Kliff Kingsbury is doing a good job of protecting him – and we don't have the meddlesome owner to poison the quarterback against his coach anymore.”
JP brought out his Deshaun Watson comp for Daniels (one which we know Fred Smoot turned down in favor of Randall Cunningham) because of how Daniels ‘glides’ as a runner,
“I think he's even different than Watson a little bit. Watson did a lot of escaping and extending, but I don't even know if he was as much to take off as we've seen Jayden,” Jones said. “There have just been a few times where you see guys like converging on him and somehow he squirts on through and he's slippery, so maybe he's just Jayden Daniels. Very unique so far, and he shows that he's learning from one week to the next. We’ve seen a lot of disappointment at that position, and I'm hoping that this finally ends the carousel and gives the long suffering fans in this franchise the quarterback that they deserve.”
Listen to Jones’ entire visit above, which includes some thoughts on the offense so far (and Terry McLaurin’s lack of production in it), what to look for Monday night, and more!
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