Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels had his coming-out party on a national stage this past week, as he led his Washington Commanders to a 38-33 upset victory over the Bengals in Cincinnati Monday night. In the win, Daniels completed 91% of his passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns, while also leading Washington with 39 rushing yards and another score on 12 carries. His 91% completion percentage set a franchise record, and was the highest by a rookie in NFL history.
It's safe to say Daniels has arrived. His Commanders have scored points on every drive excluding kneel downs in each of the last two games. That's something Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Patrick Mahomes have combined to do just twice. Again, Daniels has accomplished this in two out of three career starts.
It appears the Commanders are finally being lifted out of quarterback purgatory, which has other teams jealous. One such team may be the Las Vegas Raiders.
During a recent interview on "Up & Adams," star wideout Davante Adams said the Raiders were hoping Daniels would fall to them in the 2024 NFL Draft.
"He's a special player," Adams said. "We were hoping that maybe all the teams didn't think so and he could slip down to the Raiders a little while ago."
There's no reality where Daniels was going to fall to the Raiders at No. 13 overall, but there was some speculation about Vegas potentially trading up to select Daniels. NFL Media reported that the Raiders were one team who attempted to strike a deal with Washington for the No. 2 overall pick. However, the Commanders didn't have much interest in moving down. Not only did the Raiders view Daniels as a player worth the hype, but head coach Antonio Pierce also had a relationship with the Heisman Trophy winner from their days together at Arizona State.
A total of six quarterbacks were selected before it was the Raiders' turn to pick, so Vegas ended up not drafting a signal-caller this year. Instead, they added veteran Gardner Minshew to compete with Aidan O'Connell, but that hasn't worked out through three games.
Minshew was benched for O'Connell in the 36-22 loss to the previously winless Carolina Panthers, leading to some speculation a more permanent QB change could be coming down the line -- something Adams has seen far too much of during his two-plus years with the Raiders. As for the Commanders, they are celebrating their new face of the franchise.
