The 2024 NFL Draft class of quarterbacks came into the league with a ton of fanfare. First overall pick Caleb Williams was the wire-to-wire choice as the best of the position in his class, but there was a lot of debate as to who else in the class was worthy of such high praise. In the end, it was former LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels who was the next quarterback taken, with the very next pick to the Washington Commanders .
Through three weeks of the 2024 season, it has been Daniels and not Williams who has been the top-performing rookie this season. While Williams may have had a better statistical output in Week 3, over the course of the entire season, Daniels has gotten the nod by most experts. Even with Williams having a better box score than Daniels in Week 3, it was Daniels who was seen to have had a “breakout” performance on the week, setting a rookie record for accuracy in the Commanders’ Monday Night Football victory over the Cincinnati Bengals .
The performance that Daniels has been able to put together through three weeks has many talking about end-of-the-year awards and whether it should be Daniels, and not Williams, who is the clubhouse leader for Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. That debate has led one analyst to make comparisons to last year's OROY winner, C.J. Stroud for Daniels.
NFL.com analyst Kevin Patra favorably compared Daniels to Houston Texans’ quarterback C.J. Stroud in his latest “ Fact or Fiction ” column for the outlet, saying:
It's not just that Daniels has shown a Stroud-like ability to raise the play of everyone around him, including a still-questionable offensive line. It's not that he drops dimes and avoids turnovers like Stroud. It's the calmness. In the biggest moments, there is no flinching. Ice, meet veins. It's an unteachable quality.
Whether it was the game-winning drive in the final seconds of a Week 2 victory over the Giants or the gorgeous deep shot to Terry McLaurin in Week 3, Daniels has elevated his game in the crucible of the big moments, where many rookies crumble. Reminder: Stroud's club lost his first two starts before galloping to a playoff spot. Daniels is already ahead of that pace.
There is a long way to go in the 2024 season, but Daniels showed last week that the Commanders’ patience is paying off with the young quarterback. No one expects Daniels to consistently show the accuracy that he showed on Monday night, but if Daniels can be close, he could put up some truly remarkable numbers. We saw the connection with top receiver Terry McLaurin grow right before our eyes on Monday. It should be fun to watch that connection grow further as the year goes on.
Local News
Comments / 0