Former head coach lauds Jayden Daniels' dynamic start to Commanders career

Jayden Daniels made some encouraging strides against the New York Giants. As other rookie quarterbacks around the league go through some growing pains, he looks right at home. The Washington Commanders must be thrilled with what they've seen from their biggest offseason investment, and he's only going to get better with more experience.

Daniels isn't the finished product by any stretch. There are some improvements needed to take the next step. These involve having more conviction in his progressions and being more effective in the red zone. Kliff Kingsbury isn't putting too much on his plate so early into his pro career, so these areas should come on once things open up offensively.

cThe Heisman Trophy winner out of LSU is not turning the football over, which helped enormously considering the fine margins between success and failure versus the Giants. Daniels is a dangerous asset running the football. This keeps opposing defenses honest and provides others with additional space to do damage.

Commanders QB Jayden Daniels has the tools needed to thrive in 2024

It's so far, so good for Daniels. We'll find out much more about the signal-caller over the next few games, which sees the dual-threat star come up against the Cincinnati Bengals, Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns, and Baltimore Ravens in quick succession. If he can come out of these challenging fixtures with more positives than negatives, it will raise confidence to levels not seen in Washington for some time.

Former Washington head coach Jay Gruden likes what he sees from Daniels. It's only early, but his ability to protect the football, make smart choices, and the zone-read threat he brings to the table are traits that should ensure he can continue his rise to potential superstardom.

"As long as he’s protecting the ball, I know everybody wants to see touchdowns in the red zone, they’ll come, but just make sure we at least get points to keep the game close and try to win at the end like they did. You could see one of the times it was a true handoff and Jayden just took two steps after he handed off, and there’s two guys trying to make sure he didn’t have the ball — and then there goes the inside zone popping out of there. That is a hell of a weapon to have. Jayden Daniels and the threat of his zone read or carrying the ball getting outside the numbers is scary on defenses, and you have to have people account for him, and that’ll open up things for (Austin) Ekeler and (Brian) Robinson like it did."

- Jay Gruden via USA Today Sports

Daniels was a nightmare to scheme against in college. He's well on the way to being that in the pros. Once his passing prowess is enhanced and this area becomes feared, it'll be a conundrum for any defense no matter the standard.

He can't do it alone. The Commanders are taking things slowly schematically while relying heavily on the potent rushing trio operating in the backfield during his initial integration into a competitive setting. That includes Daniels, but he must continue to balance the risks to avoid the punishment that took him out for one play in Week 2.

It's hard not to look at Daniels' performances through two weeks and not be encouraged. It's a long season and there will be ups and downs to come. But it seems for all the smart money as if the Commanders are in good hands.

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