Prominent NFL analyst heaps huge praise on Commanders QB Jayden Daniels

The Washington Commanders offense had some significant struggles last season, and a lot of it boiled down to the play of the quarterback, and the line in front of him. The line in Washington may not have gotten significantly better in 2024, but they now have a quarterback who may be better equipped to compensate for their shortcomings.

Whereas last year’s quarterback Sam Howell wasn’t exactly a statue in the pocket, he certainly isn’t the dual-threat quarterback that the Commanders have brought in with Jayden Daniels . That ability to make plays with his arms and his legs led ESPN NFL analyst Benjamin Solak to dub Daniels “an offense unto himself”.

During an appearance on the Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny, Solak was asked by Kimes if he thought it was more likely the Giants or Commanders finished with a winning record this season, to which Solak responded :

"I’m leaning Commanders. At the very least, Jayden Daniels is an offense unto himself. When you have a quarterback who can consistently deliver the deep ball, and then also has the mobility that he has, right? He has truly game-breaking speed; turning a 5-yard scramble into a 15-yard gain caliber of acceleration."

Solak goes on to say that Daniels’ ability to create for himself is going to be an important part of the offense, due in part to the Commanders having Kliff Kingsbury as the offensive coordinator. The scheme Kingsbury runs, according to Solak, is “a lot of simple stuff”.

Kimes then jumps in to say that this past week made it clear that they’re going to run a lot of play-action and RPOs to get the time-to-release down close to zero – something she says Daniels is very good at. She then goes on to say that Daniels has done everything the Commanders have asked of him, but questions how much more Daniels – and the Washington offense – can do beyond what has been asked.

That’s where his mobility is going to come in. Daniels showed at LSU, and has shown to a degree so far in the pre-season, that he can read the field. Being able to read the field and having the mobility that he has should lead to the Commanders offense being able to make plays they couldn’t last season, simply thanks to Daniels’ ability to extend plays and make plays himself.