Commanders just made a huge decision when it comes to Jayden Daniels' development during the preseason

Jayden Daniels and Marcus Mariota have been sharing starting reps throughout Washington Commanders training camp and up until Tuesday morning, it was unclear who'd start the first preseason game against the New York Jets.

Commanders head coach cleared all that up when he told reporters that Daniels will start on Saturday, marking a huge step for the rookie QB.

"He will," Quinn said when asked if Daniels is QB1 on the unofficial depth chart and if he'll start against the Jets. "... He's earned the right to do that. Through the course of all the practices, you're keeping track of accuracy and completions and decisions of where it goes. It was really a byproduct of him [Daniels], you know, really nailing those moments. And so, like I said, we're just going through the whole process, but it's good to see when there's markers set, you get that one, then you get to the next one, and you get to the next one."

Daniels has impressed throughout the offseason and Quinn made sure to mention that Mariota has had a good offseason, as well. So, even though it's the worst kept secret in the league that Daniels will eventually be named the official starter, it's still good to know that he hasn't been handed the job by default in the context of Mariota not playing well.

As a matter of fact, Daniels is even further along than where he was anticipated to be, at this point.

"I had high expectations for him coming in, but I would say he's definitely surpassed even my expectations of the readiness [and] the command," Quinn said. "I knew he was going to be cool, you know, knowing the system - he's just got that way about him. But yet, you do see the other players gravitate to him. They recognize how hard he's worked at it."

It's the right call, for sure. There's no telling how much the Jets plan on playing their starters on either side of the ball, but in this case, the defense. It makes all the sense in the world to let Daniels face off against as much of a first-team unit, as possible.

At the same time, though, even Quinn said Daniels will likely see more reps against the Jets in Wednesday's joint practice than he will on Saturday. And if he's the starter heading into joint practice, he should see the majority of the reps with the 1s, right? That last part was not made clear during Quinn's press conference.

Either way, Daniels has impressed and now, it's time to get him as much action, as possible, against the top guys on another NFL defense. That's the right call and it should pay off big when it comes to Daniels' development - in any regard.