Is Jayden Daniels Avoiding The Sophomore Slump A Look At The

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 17, 2025, 8:18 AM

is jayden daniels avoiding the sophomore slump a look at the

After last season’s impressive record, Jayden Daniel has become a staple name in the NFL world. His most talked-about dual-threat ability mixed with accuracy has made the Commanders’ offense the talk of the town last season. But situations seem different this season. Many quarterbacks call into a sophomore slump before him. The question is whether Daniel is breaking the pattern or slowly slipping into it. Let’s take a look.

A sophomore slump is the situation when a player’s second season doesn’t seem brighter than their rookie season. For Jayden, the bar couldn’t be higher; in the past season, the champion had a stunning performance, accumulating 3568 passing yards and an incredible 25 touchdowns. Plus, he has 900 rushing yards with 100.1 passing yards. Due to his stellar performance, the champion became the Offensive Rookie of the Year last season, sparking high hopes for the Commanders down the line. However, this season isn’t going in his favor. His record includes 1,031 passing yards with eight touchdowns.

Followed by one interception with a 61% completion rate. The numbers are still good, but on a slight downside compared to his rookie season. This might result from his hamstring injury; his offensive coordination seemed dull then. For which he was sidelined against the Dallas Cowboys and has been ruled out from Monday Night Football against the Chiefs in Week 8. Still, Daniels is reading the ball better. An analyst from ESPN said:

“It’s a tricky situation. The shine’s still there, but cracks are showing under pressure.” So far, Jayden Daniels is trying to avoid the sophomore slump by battling his injuries without losing his edge. The league may have adjusted, but the champion hasn’t backed down. He is trying his best to prove his caliber. But he may enter the slump pattern if he can’t manage to be in his form.

Keep watching to get such exciting updates. Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels orchestrated one of the best rookie campaigns in NFL history last season. Daniels led the team from the depths of their division all the way to the NFC Championship Game. Already, Daniels is generating the buzz of a top 10 quarterback and some are ready to anoint him among the league's best. It's a short sample size certainly but it is difficult to argue with the results he put out in year one. However, many great players that have come before him have felt the same highs before a slide in their second season.

Dak Prescott and Saquon Barkley, both faces of Washington's most staunch NFC East rivals, can share their own experiences with regression, or "sophomore slump." Daniels wants to avoid that entirely and is taking the steps to ensure that he not only continues his success from year one, but builds upon it to become a better player. "I'm sitting down and watching film and trying to eliminate some tendencies, as much as possible," he explained to Yahoo Sports. "Talking to the coaching staff on areas that they feel like I need to improve on and having conversations so we can all hit at full speed." The Washington Commanders arguably altered the trajectory of the franchise when they selected former LSU star and Heisman Trophy winner, Jayden Daniels, with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Daniels guided the Commanders to one of their best seasons in decades, leading the team to a 12-5 mark during the regular season before a run to the NFC Championship. After finishing just one game short of a Super Bowl appearance, Washington has tried to make the necessary moves to be in a position to win it all next fall. READ MORE: Commanders sign rookie camp tryout player to the 90-man roster So far this offseason, the Commanders have made a pair of trades, bringing in left tackle Laremy Tunsil from the Houston Texans and wide receiver Deebo Samuel from the San Francisco 49ers. The pair of veterans should only boost an offense that ranked top-10 in yards and top-5 in scoring last season. With that being said, Washington will go as far as Daniels takes them.

The reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year turned plenty of heads in year one. In the 2024 offseason, NFL teams selected six quarterbacks in the first 12 picks of the draft, by far the most ever. As rookies, these passers had their ups and downs. One carried his team to the NFC championship game. One nearly set the record for sacks taken in a season. One never got a chance to play due to an injury.

Where do these players stand going into year two? Is this group still set to change the league—or were NFL teams overzealous when they drafted these guys back in April of last year? Welcome to Sophomore QB Week at The Ringer. This week, we’re breaking down the play and futures of Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Michael Penix Jr., J.J. McCarthy, and Bo Nix. Today, we’re looking at Daniels, who won the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award after his standout season in Washington.

Since 2001, 103 quarterbacks have attempted at least 100 passes as rookies. Of those rookie passers, just 10 have netted at least 50 expected points added for their teams. And of those 10, just two have improved on their EPA totals in their second seasons. Seven were worse as sophomores. The final quarterback in that sample is to be determined. That’s Jayden Daniels, Washington’s superstar passer who is looking to avoid the dreaded “sophomore slump” in 2025.

But here’s the good news for Daniels: Sophomore slumps aren’t real. Quarterbacks of all levels of experience tend to do worse following a great season, not just sophomores. That small sample above shows seven out of nine elite rookies declining in their second year—similar to what we see from veterans coming off big seasons. Since 2001, 271 quarterbacks have totaled 50 EPA or more for their teams. Of the 249 of those QBs who went on to attempt at least 100 passes in their next season, 179 have seen their EPA numbers decline—71.9 percent. Dive a little deeper into the numbers, and a similar pattern emerges.

Rookie quarterbacks who totaled more than 50 dropback EPA declined by an average of 31.8 EPA in their subsequent seasons. All QBs who totaled more than 50 EPA in one season saw an average decline of 33.1 EPA the next. Break these samples down into a few EPA cohorts—I’m choosing above 50 EPA, zero to 50 EPA, negative-50 to zero EPA, and below negative-50 EPA—and the pattern of decline/improvement is remarkably consistent: Jayden Daniels started his NFL career with a bang, being named Offensive Rookie of the Year and leading the Washington Commanders to the NFC Championship Game. He started all 17 games, posting a 12-5 record, but will he go through a sophomore slump? Houston Texans quarterback C.J.

Stroud had a similar start in his rookie season but took a big step backward in Year 2. ESPN’s Sam Acho recently explained how Washington can prevent the same thing from happening to Daniels. Daniels was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and immediately shook up the NFC East. Washington went from 4-13 in 2023 to 12 wins and a Wild Card berth in Daniels’ first season, with the rookie throwing for 3,568 yards, 25 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. He proved his dual-threat ability, adding 891 rushing yards and six scores on the ground, and ranked No.

9 in PFSN’s QB+ metric. Defenses didn’t know how to handle the rookie, and Washington rode the wave to the NFC Championship Game. Stroud was also named Offensive Rookie of the Year after his first season leading the Texans to an AFC South title and the Divisional Round of the playoffs. But what the Commanders and Daniels want to avoid is a drop-off similar to Stroud’s in Year 2. The Washington Commanders and superstar rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels were the toast of the league last season. The Heisman Trophy winner had one of the all-time great seasons for a first-year player, winning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year while leading his team to a 12-5 record and an appearance in...

No one saw last season coming after the Commanders won four games the prior year. For Daniels, it vaulted him straight into the conversation among the league's other elite passers. There is one downside to all of that. Increased expectations. Now that Daniels has set such a high standard early on, there will be no more room for patience as he continues to grow. Therefore, some around the league believe he is fated to disappoint in 2025.

An anonymous executive compared the hype following Daniels' rookie season to that surrounding the Houston Texans signal-caller C.J. Stroud a year ago, when the Ohio State product conducted a similar turnaround. The AFC South club went from three wins in 2022 to 10 in 2023. They won a playoff game and were projected to take the next step into Super Bowl contention last time around. This week, there was more talk about Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels potentially experiencing an NFL sophomore slump. But in this case, the two hosts weren't buying the talk of Daniels falling into the dreaded sophomore slump.

Nope, Robert Mays and Derrick Klassen on their "The Athletic Football Show" podcast actually held firmly that they don't see Daniels falling off drastically. For example, they discussed how NFL teams will adjust their strategies this year and employ different blitzes against Daniels. Thus, yes, a quarterback's performance against the blitz can vary from year to year. When suggesting that Daniels could fall back slightly against the blitz, a reference came to how, when being blitzed late in a game, he threw a deep touchdown. That no doubt was referring to the MNF win, when Daniels connected with Terry McLaurin down the right sideline, in the end zone, ensuring the Commanders' road win in Cincinnati over the Bengals. It was admitted that though Daniels might not maintain the rate to make a large gain against the blitz, the two ended up agreeing that they actually can easily see Daniels making enough of...

Is Jayden Daniels Avoiding The Sophomore Slump A Look At The

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