Jayden Daniels is no longer at LSU, but he’s still backed by a passionate fanbase. During the Washington Commanders’ rookie minicamp, Daniels revealed his initial impression of the organization’s fans.
“It’s just a franchise that’s eager,” Daniels said. “To be able to go out there and try to help the team win football games. And obviously, it’s new, everything here. The DMV fan base, everybody, they want to see wins, they want to see excitement, want to see joy.
“Hopefully, we can go out there and we can do it as a Commanders franchise, as a team. But you know that’s way down the road. We worried about rookie minicamp and practice tomorrow.”
The Washington Commanders fans’ excitement isn’t unfounded. Daniels was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 Draft, only falling behind former USC standout Caleb Williams.
Daniels was spectacular in the 2023 campaign, completing 236-of-327 passes for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns with just four interceptions. He also rushed for 1,134 yards and another 10 scores. Daniels ultimately led the Tigers to a 9-3 regular season.
He became the first LSU Tiger to win the Heisman Trophy since Joe Burrow brought home the hardware in 2019. Daniels led the nation in total offense (4,946) in the regular season, touchdowns responsible for (50), passer rating (208.0), yards per pass attempt (11.7) and rushing yards by a quarterback (1,134).
In his five-year collegiate career, Daniels amassed 953 completions for 12,749 yards, 89 touchdowns and 20 interceptions while completing 66.3% of his passes. In the ground game, Daniels collected 3,307 rushing yards and 37 scores.
Jayden Daniels is not changing his approach
Daniels hopes to bring similar success to Washington by sticking with what has got him this far.
“Just being myself, being a hard worker. Don’t try to be somebody I’m not, you know, people see real from fake, authentic and who’s not,” Daniels said. “Just be myself. Try to make connections, you know, talk to people obviously.
“I’m 23. It’s a lot of different age ranges in this locker room. So, trying to relate as much as possible. Show them I’m all about the team, I’m all about hard work and I’m just here to get better each and every day.”
Jayden Daniels is expected to be the Commanders’ starting quarterback in his debut NFL campaign. The Commanders also have Marcus Mariota, Jeff Driskel and Sam Hartman in their quarterback room.
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