The Washington Commanders will be one of the top bounce-back candidates in the NFL this year, one season after they were considered — and proved to be — one of the top regression candidates. And it all starts and ends with quarterback Jayden Daniels.
When Washington made the NFC Championship game during Daniels' rookie year, the quarterback was spectacular. He could do no wrong. He made every game look easy, and the Commanders feasted on his positive vibes all year long.
Then, the rude awakening came.
Daniels got injured multiple times and often looked rattled even when he played. As a result, the Commanders' primary objective for 2026 should be to do a better job of protecting him. He also owes some responsibility in that regard himself.
Jayden Daniels must also grow alongside Commanders' wholesale changes
Everyone knows what Daniels is capable of, but with his size and playing style, the questions about his sustainability in the NFL are real. If he is as reckless as he was last year, he is not going to last long in this league. Thankfully, as NBC Sports insider JP Finlay points out via 106.7 The Fan, he's still young enough to grow out of it.
"If there's one thing I'd like to see Jayden learn from Lamar (Jackson), it's that Lamar rarely gets hit. He doesn't take a lot of big shots, and I think Jayden, like Steve Young did, he took too many shots. (Young) over time evolved from that, and I'd like to see in Year 3 some of that evolution from Jayden."
Lamar Jackson has been considered one of the blueprints for Daniels from the start, given their similar dual-threat styles. The 2024 No. 2 overall pick is a far more advanced passer than the Baltimore Ravens star was at the same stage of his career, but he struggles with the same durability issues.
Steve Young is another comparison Finlay brings up, a player who was exceptionally raw early on in his career but slowly learned to avoid endangering himself on the field. Daniels must take notes because he certainly has the talent to be an NFL MVP-caliber player for many years.
There's nothing more exciting than a quarterback who can extend plays and make magic out of broken situations, as Daniels can. However, that often comes at the risk of injury, something Washington cannot afford to have plague its star signal-caller.
Moving forward, Daniels must find the balance between ability and reliability. The future of the Commanders franchise depends on it.
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