Jayden Daniels has had an excellent training camp, so far, to the point where the Washington Commanders named him the starting quarterback heading into the first preseason game against the New York Jets.
Daniels is set to receive a double-dose of action as he faces the Jets defense, one of the NFL's best units in 2023, not once, but twice in a span of three days. Those two meetings come in the form of Thursday's joint practice session and Saturday's game, which kicks off at 1 p.m. ET in East Rutherford.
After Thursday's practice, it's safe to say Daniels will be looking for some revenge on Saturday. That's because according to reports, he did not look like the same guy that has been on the practice field the last two weeks. And while that's nothing to freak out about, at all, it is a notable talking point when it comes to Daniels' development as an NFL quarterback: He's figuring things out, as he will be for the entire year.
Now, it's very important to note that the Commanders offensive line is not in a good position, at all, right now. The unit was already a big question mark coming into camp, but injuries to key players have made things even harder than they already were.
Per reports, the offensive line's best player, Sam Cosmi, missed Thursday's team session and the same goes for right tackle Andrew Wylie. Rookie left tackle Brandon Coleman, who's had one of the team's best camps, also did not practice. That's two starters, and potentially a third in Coleman, missing along the front five. It's bound to have an impact when facing a front seven like the one the Jets possess.
The elements were also hideous. The Jets literally held Aaron Rodgers out of practice because of the bad weather , which tells you all you need to know. Still, Daniels is going to have to perform in the elements at some point in his career and if he wants to live up to the expectations that come with being the No. 2 pick, he's going to have to find ways to overcome bad weather.
And, the Commanders already have enough questions at receiver outside Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson - that doesn't help when going up against one of the NFL's best cornerback duos in Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed.
Again, this is nothing to worry about and was expected, to an extent. But, no one wants to make excuses for Daniels and that's what this sounds like, but in reality, it's simply laying out the facts.
It wasn't all bad on Thursday. Daniels reportedly progressed as the day went on and he also hit Dyami Brown down the right sideline for what would've easily been a highlight-reel worthy play during the regular season:
The best part about all of this is the fact everyone knows Daniels will put in the work, plus some, to make sure he improves upon Thursday's showing and gets to the level where all of these things that he can't control don't matter simply because he's locked in and can lead an NFL offense.
Related: How to watch and stream the Washington Commanders-New York Jets preseason game on Saturday
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