Commanders QB Jayden Daniels sounds like he's getting some sliding lessons soon

It’s no great secret that Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels poses a lethal threat to defenses as a runner.

Naturally, some of the conversation has shifted to Daniels’ ability to protect himself while running at the pro level, though. Namely, the sliding topic has come up already.

Commanders head coach Dan Quinn leaned into this, almost in jest, recently while fielding a question about Daniels’ scrambling ability.

“If he just gets outside the pocket to run, that's a lot easier to defend,” Quinn said . “So, you're outside the pocket, but this player can stay alive and throw on the move, that's where it is. And then as he gets closer to contact, we're going to go over to visit with the [Washington] Nationals a lot and learn sliding and other important topics down the line."

Effectively, Quinn wants Daniels to extend plays with the threat of still passing while outside the pocket. But taking off for big gains sure won’t hurt either–provided the No. 2 overall pick protects himself.

During his Heisman Trophy campaign last year at LSU, Daniels ran for 1,134 yards and 10 scores on an 8.4 average. At the pro level, the Commanders hope that dynamic threat is effective while as safe as it possibly can be, too.