Too soon?
Joe hasn’t heard this much talk about legs since Carrie Underwood’s opening for _Sunday Night Football_ last aired.
But no, Underwood, sadly, has no connection to the Bucs. Backup quarterback Jalon Daniels does. And so far in two worthless preseason games, facing truck drivers and accountants, he’s shown that he can negate a pass rush/rotten blocking with his legs.
Even Jenna Laine [has noticed](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/49664649/2026-nfl-preseason-week-2-takeaways-analysis-roster-questions) her ESPN data referencing last weekend’s worthless preseason game against the Chiefs.
> His play on the move really stood out during a night when Jake Browning was pressured on 58% of his dropbacks and was sacked three times.
That horrendous pass blocking seemed to vanish when Daniels was on the field. Oh, it was there, but Daniels used escapability to negate it.But is that enough for Daniels to become the Bucs’ No. 2 quarterback for Week 1 in Cincinnati?
Joe has doubts.
Two things Chucky (Jon Gruden) — who absolutely raved about Daniels — pointed out about the Kansas product has to give Bucs offensive coordinator Zac Robinson indigestion when it comes to chatter that Daniels should be QB2.
The first was Daniels doesn’t yet know the playbook. Chucky noted Daniels was late getting out of huddles. Chucky said that means the rookie is struggling with the playcalls.
(Baker Mayfield said Daniels’ biggest obstacle will be learning the playbook and the verbiage, like any other rookie.)
Second, Chucky said Daniels did not field direct snaps from center cleanly because he is still used to calling every play from shotgun like he did at Kansas.
Joe thinks those are big deals. Not having those two elements down can easily lead to mistakes and the dreaded turnovers.
Oh, Daniels could be ready to rock by October. But with the start of the season so close, Joe just doesn’t believe Todd Bowles would trust his career to a green-as-grass undrafted free agent rookie if something happens to Mayfield.
The future seems bright for Daniels, but it will take at least several weeks to be realized.