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The pick is in, and the Washington Commanders have their guy under centre, Jayden Daniels out of LSU.
Josh Harris and company will hope the selection provides stability at the most important position in the National Football League for many a season to come.
And here at UKHTTC we posed three questions:
Happy with the pick of Daniels at 2?
Who on the roster will benefit most?
Any lingering doubts about this pick?
We welcome back Joshua Edwards, Tony Wheat of Full Press NFL and UKHTTC founder, Christian Burt, to give their quickfire thoughts.
First up, Joshua
Happy with the pick?
You bet.
I wrote this a couple of days go, both in hope and expectation. Daniels was the obvious choice at no.2 to me.
An elite playmaker with all the traits the modern NFL covets so much in QBs: accuracy, speed, elusiveness – Daniels ceiling is sky-high, and the Heisman trophy winner can make an immediate impact for a franchise desperate to right so many wrongs of recent years.
I’m over the moon and so should any Washington fan be today.
Who on the roster will benefit the most?
Everyone. No joke.
Leadership on offense not just through toughness (ala Howell) or likability (ala Heinicke), but pure talent. He’ll keep the Defense off the field with his ability to convert difficult 3rd and 4th downs with his legs.
He’ll get the ball to playmakers in the open field, and he’ll throw guys open with anticipation. If you want to get more specific, Terry McLaurin could have a monster year.
Any lingering doubts over the pick?
No doubts, but no prospect is perfect.
Daniels can make all the throws but doesn’t have as live an arm as Caleb Williams who went 1st overall to Chicago. This by no means precludes him from being a superstar but it does mean he has to rely a little more on smarts and his exceptional mobility.
He takes too many hits in the open field but that’s coachable, and Adam Peters already said last night that they’ll work with him on that.
On the flip side, he’s tough as nails and the SEC is the closest conference to the NFL in terms of speed and size, so Daniels has proven a level of durability already; he’ll get up again and again.
Put it like this: Washington just took the best QB prospect they’ve ever drafted, RG3 included.
Next up, Tony with his thoughts.
Happy with pick?
Yes, delighted. It’s been a bit of a saga these last few weeks but in the end all the signs seemed to point to Daniels.
Jayden is an incredible playmaker which is something that Washington has really lacked in recent times, and he’ll bring an energy and an excitement to the franchise to get the fans rocking in D.C.
I would have been happy with Drake Maye or even JJ McCarthy, but Daniels has the wow factor and should also be experienced enough to play from day one.
Who on the roster benefits the most?
The obvious answer is the skill players and having a QB who is decisive, accurate and doesn’t turn the ball over much will be a godsend.
Terry McLaurin has never had a settled starting QB before so this could turn him into a legitimate number 1 receiver and Jahan Dotson may now blossom.
Additionally, Austin Ekeler should benefit as a dual threat back and will be a vital ally to a young QB in the screen and check down game.
Any Lingering concerns?
The obvious issue around Daniels’s size remains and he needs to learn how to protect himself better in the NFL or those RGIII comparisons may become all too real.
Also, it’s pretty well known that the bust rate of QB selections is around 50% so everyone will be praying that Peters and Co called the right side of the coin!
And finishing up, Christian.
Happy with the pick?
A dual-threat rookie QB, whose actual strength is from the pocket despite being quicker than lightening when he takes off? I think that certainly fits the mould of an exciting new era for the Commanders.
Daniels has played in the toughest conference in College Football, the SEC. Aged 23 and with 55 college career games, you’d be betting all your chips that Jayden will start from Week 1 and be ready to Raise Hail in the NFC East both in 2024 and beyond.
Apart from the obvious skillset he possesses, what made me really like selection of Daniels was the Adam Peters press conference post-pick.
As the new guy in town, Peters was quite clear this was a unanimous decision between all who reside in the Front Office in Washington.
It makes me truly believe that this franchise a) has a clear plan for how to utilise Daniels and b) has an FO that are all on the same page going into the rest of the 2024 draft.
You cannot overstate how much that differs from the Dan Snyder years of turmoil and overly emotive picks.
Who on the roster benefits the most?
For a top 15 WR in the NFL, Terry McLaurin has had to catch passes from a set of distinctly middling QBs under centre for Washington.
This will change in 2024 and along with his fellow wideout, Jahan Dotson, I would expect both to put up career-high stats with Daniels as the starting QB. There is a drop-off in quality in the WR room after Dotson so I expect that the Commanders will consider the acquisition of another WR with either pick 36 or 40 in the second round.
Or might Adam Peters want to make a bold statement and call up his last stop in San Francisco and enquire what it will take to bring Brandon Aiyuk to D.C?
Any Lingering concerns?
Rome wasn’t built in a day and nor can even the astute Adam Peters turn the Commanders into true contenders overnight.
Unfortunately for Daniels, some of the gaps on the current roster are in positions that are very much a rookie QBs safety blanket: namely a starting calibre Left Tackle and dependable Tight End (Ertz is the current TE club house leader and he is certainly in his NFL career twilight).
Still, there are another four picks in the top 100 to come for the Commanders and they might look at say Kingsley Suamataia as a guy who could become a starter by Week 6 whilst Cornelius Lucas holds the LT spot down for now.
So, apart from his slender size, my overall concerns would be blind side protection and a dependable TE target.
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