How Jayden Daniels has impressed Commanders ahead of preseason debut

Jayden Daniels hasn't yet been named the Washington Commanders' starting quarterback but is on track to serve as the club's QB1 for its preseason opener at the New York Jets on Saturday.

Daniels has already thoroughly impressed during training camp for reasons beyond his physical attributes.

"I love how he approaches each day, how he handles the good, the bad, all the installs," Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury recently said about Daniels, as Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk shared. "He must study it like crazy at night, because every morning when we get here and he walks through with us, he nails it. And so, you just appreciate the work he’s putting in. He’s paying the cost to try and get where he wants to get. And that’s all you can ask from a young player."

Before Washington made Daniels the second overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, some suggested he should've been atop "big boards" this past spring because he allegedly "loves football more" than fellow signal-caller Caleb Williams. Nevertheless, the Chicago Bears took Williams as the draft's first choice, but the Commanders were happy that Daniels fell to them at No. 2.

In June, Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin mentioned how Daniels essentially knew "the entire offense" on his first day inside the team's facility. According to ESPN's John Keim , McLaurin more recently admitted that "it's hard not to be excited" about what Daniels could offer the organization.

"Definitely trying not to put the cart before the horse," McLaurin added. "But he's come in and just been so prepared. I've played with a lot of first-time quarterbacks, and he plays like this is not going to be his first time playing in this league."

While veteran Marcus Mariota theoretically could extend Washington's quarterback competition through the entire preseason, Daniels appears on track to start the Week 1 matchup at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 8. Kingsbury made it known that Daniels isn't taking any victory laps as he prepares to play against the Jets on Saturday.

"I think [Daniels] is just putting in the work to reach the level that he expects himself to play at this year, which is probably higher than what any of us could imagine," Kingsbury continued. "But I just see day in, day out, its consistency in his approach, his consistency in how he treats people and how he studies, how he works."

Daniels has been as good, if not better than advertised, from springtime workouts through this week. Kingsbury and Co. hope the trend will continue at MetLife Stadium this weekend.