Commanders' Jayden Daniels Reacts to Starting Job: 'Surreal'

The worst-kept secret in football is no longer a secret, with the Washington Commanders officially announcing Jayden Daniels as their starting quarterback.

In truth, it was always going to be Daniels, but head coach Dan Quinn has preached competition all offseason and wanted the No. 2 overall pick to go out and earn the right to be called the starter.

After two preseason games in which Daniels looked superb, the decision was easy for Quinn, who named Daniels the starter on Monday.

And Jayden revealed what being the Commanders' starting quarterback is like.

“A surreal moment, it's nothing but God, I wouldn’t be here in this position without him so big ups to the man upstairs,” Daniels said .

Getting drafted so high and coming in with such high expectations, from the outside at least, Daniels wasn't looking at this opportunity to come in and be a leader straight away.

He knew he had to earn the respect of his teammates and coaches, which he did in quick time. But the 2023 Heisman trophy winner revealed he was under no illusions that when he stepped into the Commanders organization, he was a small fish in a big pond.

“I'm a rookie so I got to come out and prove it,” Daniels said. “What I did in college doesn't matter, there's guys that been in his league that are proven, so for me just knowing my role, they weren't looking at me because [of] where I got drafted to come here and be a leader."

Related: Commanders Officially Enter Jayden Daniels Era

But it appears that leadership comes easy to Jayden, and with him now running Kliff Kingsbury's offense with ease, attention now turns to Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where everything matters.

So far in preseason, Daniels has looked as advertised and while we were made to wait for what many thought was going to be the inevitable decision, now that its made, Jayden's first step in his career has been completed.

Now, the real challenge begins.