Commanders Jayden Daniels Cited In Shocking Qb Rankings Spot

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 17, 2025, 4:09 AM

commanders jayden daniels cited in shocking qb rankings spot

There's no denying the Washington Commanders were one of the surprise packets of the 2024 season, and the big reason why was the play of rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. The former LSU stud took the league by storm, en route to posting a 12-5 record and an NFC Championship game appearance. Oh, and he won Offensive Rookie of the Year, too. So it is no wonder many are excited to see what Daniels can do in Year 2 with new weapons like Deebo Samuel, and five-time Pro Bowler Laremy Tunsil at left tackle. But when looking at the other starting quarterbacks, CBS Sports seems to think rather highly of Jayden, putting him at No. 1 on their quarterback rankings list.

"Recency bias? Sure," CBS Sports writes. "But you'd be hard-pressed to find an NFL team that wouldn't hurry to claim him as its quarterback of the present and future, contenders included. He was simply unflappable for much of his dynamic debut, which ended on the doorstep of the Super Bowl. A second-year dip is possible, but who says Daniels won't keep climbing with some added veteran help in D.C.?" Rankings are subjective.

Remember that. That doesn't mean we can't review some rankings and ask: "What were they thinking?" Such is the case with a recent list from Charles McDonald of Yahoo Sports. McDonald ranked his version of the NFL's top 10 quarterbacks and omitted the Washington Commanders' QB Jayden Daniels. At first glance, I thought it was a mistake. How could McDonald leave Daniels off his list?

It's understandable if he didn't rank Daniels No. 5. While several already believe Daniels is a top-five signal caller, some believe he still has much to prove. Neither perspective is wrong. Daniels did things last season that no other rookie has ever done. He won the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award, led the Commanders to the NFC championship game and the franchise's best season in 33 years.

McDonald's top four is inarguable: Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Joe Burrow. Regardless of the order, those are the NFL's top four QBs heading into 2025. Beginning at No. 5 is where things get interesting. McDonald chose Justin Herbert over Daniels. Herbert is 0-2 as a starting quarterback in the playoffs, while Daniels won two playoff games as a rookie.

No, there's more to quarterbacking than playoff wins or win/loss record, but, based on last season, would you take Herbert over Daniels? The debate over which quarterback the Washington Commanders should draft raged on through winter and into early spring of 2024. It was like a political race, with two candidates taking center stage and a few outliers with smaller followings and even smaller chances of being the name picked at the end. When the time came, Jayden Daniels was the name the Commanders selected, drafting the quarterback out of LSU to lead the franchise out of the darkest era in its existence and into this new... Now, through the benefit of recency bias and perfect lens of hindsight, NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks has cast his vote for which quarterback has been the best through one season and seven weeks, leaving... “Maye has captivated the football world with a spectacular start to his second season, spawning conversation that he could soon join the big four at quarterback (Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Joe...

Obviously, the 23-year-old needs to keep this up in order to reach such rarefied air, but he has made a quantum leap under the direction of new head coach Mike Vrabel and offensive coordinator... 1 2024 draft pick so far. “Through the first seven weeks of the season, Maye leads the NFL with a 75.2 percent completion rate, while also posting sparkling figures in TD-to-INT ratio (12:2), yards per attempt (8.6) and passer rating... He's been staggeringly effective downfield, too, boasting a perfect 158.3 passer rating on throws of 20-plus air yards. (That's ridiculous.) With the 5-2 Patriots sitting alone atop the AFC East, Maye has entered the MVP discussion and surpassed his peers as the QB1 of a stacked 2024 crop at the position.” Of course, this time last season, as a rookie, Daniels was getting MVP whispers as well, though some seem to have forgotten about that, erasing it from memory.

Over the years, there have been countless quarterbacks who have entered the NFL and had an immediate impact on their team. That said, few have burst on the scene the way Jayden Daniels did last season. Following an impressive rookie campaign, the rising star finds himself in the same breath as his top counterparts. After drafting him No. 2 overall, the Washington Commanders wasted no time handing the reins over to Daniels. This proved to be a wise decision, as he quickly altered the trajectory of the franchise.

In the span of one season, he turned Washington from a rebuilding team to a budding contender in the NFC. In the regular season, Daniels threw for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns en route to leading the Commanders to a 12-5 record. Things didn't end there, as Washington punched their ticket to the postseason. It was there that Daniels proved he is on a path towards stardom in the NFL. Led by strong play from Daniels, Washington managed to pull off multiple upsets in the playoffs. They made it all the way to the NFC Championship game, where their Cinderella run came to an end at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles.

While they were unable to reach the Super Bowl, Daniels and the Commanders still made a huge statement to the rest of the league. Also read: Kevin Durant Sends Message to Commanders Star Jayden Daniels For almost the entirety of the 2024 NFL regular season, one rookie has ruled the roost, and that’s been Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, the No. 2 overall pick and 2023 Heisman Trophy winner from LSU. The last month has seen Daniels fending off challengers from all sides and, now, having the top spot in ESPN’s NFL Rookie Rankings taken away from him by Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock... “Bowers has already set a new record for receptions in a season by a rookie tight end, passing Sam LaPorta’s mark of 86, which was set last season,” ESPN’s Jeff Legwold wrote on December...

“Now, Bowers has his sights on a rookie record that has stood for more than six decades: Hall of Famer Mike Ditka’s 1,076 receiving yards in 1961. It’s doable, as Bowers has four games left and has been targeted on a quarter of the routes he has run this season. There are some evaluators in the league who say he isn’t just the best rookie tight end, but perhaps the best overall tight end in the league.” While Bowers has been magnificent this season with 87 receptions for 933 yards and 4 touchdowns, he’s done it on a terrible team. The Raiders are 2-11 and on a 9-game losing streak headed into a Week 15 home game against the Atlanta Falcons. The Commanders, on the other hand, are 8-5 and holding onto the seventh and final NFC playoff spot headed into their Week 15 road game against the New Orleans Saints.

The NFL world believes in Jayden Daniels. And why wouldn't they? The Washington Commanders QB put together one of the best rookie seasons in league history. But that belief is confirmed in ESPN's new quarterback ranking list, which polls league executives, coaches and scouts to capture the pulse of QB caliber around the NFL. The top four was straightforward: Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson. "Daniels' phenomenal rookie season demanded an appearance somewhere in the top 10," ESPN writes.

"That he pushed his way into the top five, narrowly outdistancing Stafford in the voting, shows voters have no problem validating his hype." Jayden Daniels transformed the Washington Commanders during his rookie season, bringing fresh energy to a fanbase that had waited years for legitimate hope at quarterback. His debut campaign showcased the tools needed for franchise quarterback status, with many already placing him among the league’s elite heading into 2025. That expectation made Yahoo Sports’ Charles McDonald’s recent preseason quarterback rankings all the more shocking. Daniels failed to crack the top 10 entirely. Entering the 2025 NFL season, @FourVerts gives his top 10 QBs 👀 pic.twitter.com/aNytKuDo0v

Commanders Jayden Daniels Cited In Shocking Qb Rankings Spot

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