The Washington Commanders will strongly consider drafting LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels with the No. 2 overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Commanders are expected to choose between several quarterbacks.
Daniels is currently the betting favorite despite the situation taking an odd turn on Wednesday. The two sides were involved in a minor kerfuffle via social media when Daniels' agent liked a tweet that was critical of Washington's front office and also quote-tweeted a video that was critical. It's an interaction that would have best been avoided but ultimately means nothing at the end of the day.
The situation arose when the Commanders simultaneously welcomed four quarterbacks to their facility on Wednesday for pre-draft 30 visits. J.J. McCarthy, Drake Maye, and Michael Penix Jr. joined Daniels on his visit to Washington.
It was admittedly a peculiar decision by Washington’s front office. Pre-draft visits are intended to be thorough opportunities to conduct medicals, show a player around the facility, discuss culture and scheme fits, and so on. It’s essentially a really long, important job interview. Can you imagine conducting a job interview with a large group of people competing for the same role? That’s essentially what Washington did on Wednesday by straying from the norm.
Choosing between Daniels, McCarthy, Maye, and presumably, Penix Jr., is a massive, franchise-altering decision. The Commanders should be spending as much individual time as possible with the prospects under consideration. Focusing on four at once distracts from the opportunity to familiarize themselves with each player individually.
Perhaps the Commanders wanted to see how all four quarterbacks would conduct themselves in a competitive grouplike setting. I personally don’t see the value in that. Interactions with their eventual teammates will greatly differ from what Washington observed on Wednesday.
What's done is done. Daniels' agent clearly didn't agree with Washington's decision. The Commanders aren't going to allow an agent's personal thoughts to prevent them from drafting Daniels if they identify him as their potential franchise quarterback.
Daniels was arguably the best quarterback in college football throughout 2023. The Heisman winner achieved career highs in completion percentage (72.2%), yards (3,812), touchdowns (40), yards per pass attempt (11.7), and rushing yards (1,134). The dual-threat Daniels also rushed for 10 additional touchdowns, falling one short of his 11 rushing scores in 2022.
Washington is operating under a completely new regime. The Josh Harris-led ownership group replaced the inept Dan Snyder. Adam Peters is the new general manager after serving as John Lynch’s righthand man in San Francisco. And finally, Dan Quinn is receiving his second opportunity to be a head coach after previously leading the Atlanta Falcons to a Super Bowl appearance.
It's unclear whether Harris, Peters, Quinn, or the collective made the decision to welcome four quarterbacks for pre-draft visits at once. Owners typically have a large say in such matters. NBC's ProFootballTalk speculated that perhaps Harris spearheaded the idea due to his personal scheduling and availability.
The Commanders should have welcomed Daniels to their facility via a solo experience. It's imperative they turn over every leaf in their research before deciding if he's their franchise quarterback. Their efforts suffered a setback when they distracted themselves with others. Daniels' agent probably should have stayed off social media, but it won't prevent Washington from drafting Daniels if that's what they want to do.