Jayden Daniels had to watch Drake Maye take the New England Patriots to the Super Bowl and Caleb Williams lead the Chicago Bears to the playoffs as NFC North champions last season. That will only make the quarterback more motivated to bounce back for the Washington Commanders, but he's almost become an afterthought in comparison.
That's not the case with everyone. For ex-Washington director of pro personnel turned ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, Daniels remains the best quarterback from the 2024 NFL Draft class.
And he believes the former LSU sensation is about to remind everyone why this season.
Louis Riddick still believes Jayden Daniels will outshine his 2024 draft classmates long-term
Daniels is a competitive guy. Anyone who's watched this year's Quarterback docuseries on Netflix knows how frustrated he was to miss so much time in 2025. Everything is proceeding as planned this time around, and the signal-caller has led from the front by setting the correct tone that his teammates are naturally following.
Of course, getting the better of Maye, Williams, and maybe even Box Nix will be the furthest thing from his mind. At the same time, Daniels will no doubt have heard all the doubts thrown his way while others from the 2024 cohort receive untold adulation.
Riddick has always been a firm believer in Daniels. He reaffirmed this during an appearance on ESPN's morning debate show Get Up.
Now that the Heisman Trophy winner is healthy — and if Daniels can stay that way throughout Year 3 of his professional career — the respected analyst is convinced that Washington's franchise player will resume his place at the top of the 2024 pile.
That could be the best-case scenario for Daniels and the Commanders.
The team's fortunes are still hanging in the balance, but they also stand a good chance of bouncing back emphatically if everything comes together. For the offense to be effective, the Cajon High School graduate must stay healthy, the protection must be sound, the ground game must be balanced, and the pass-catchers must all meet expectations. And of course, David Blough's scheme has to have the desired effect.
It's a lot to ask, but it's not impossible either.
And as all Commanders fans know, this team is never out of the fight with Daniels under center.
Maye, Williams, and Nix should all have fantastic careers. This could be among the greatest quarterback classes of the modern era when it's all said and done. But the recency bias around Daniels' supposed drop-off seems way off the mark.
Now, it's time to prove it.
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