Only three quarterbacks in NFL history have led their team to the conference championship in their first season of play.
Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Flacco, and Washington Commander superstar Jayden Daniels.
Daniels' rise to power as a Heisman Trophy winner turned Pro Bowl quarterback was incredible to watch in his first season. Making the run even more impressive was the fact he turned a down-on-their-luck franchise like Washington to get a game away from the Super Bowl.
Based on that, it's hard to disagree with NFL.com contributor Tom Blair naming Daniels as the best Day 1 quarterback draft pick in the last five years.
"In some respects, drafting Daniels after the Bears took last year's consensus No. 1,, off the board was probably just as easy as drafting Burrow in 2020," Blair said. "Then again, Washington could have gone in a few different directions, with and other QBs still available, or taken a more conservative approach to building up the roster after years of futility.
"Instead, they jumped at the high-upside Daniels and supported him with an influx of free agent talent and a consistent, fearless coaching staff, which seems like a smart tack to take when picking a signal-caller in Round 1."
Related: Commanders QB Room Offering Dan Quinn Reason To 'Panic'?
Few rookie quarterbacks in NFL history have been as successful as Daniels was in his rookie year. He won as many playoff games in his first season than Dak Prescott has done in his entire NFL journey.
He's also reached the conference title game where Prescott and the Cowboys have failed to do.
As Daniels continues to learn the game, it's clear Washington is extremely fortunate to be where they are at. And it leaves plenty of positive vibes coming from the nation's capital as well.
Related: Commanders Aggressive Offseason Gets 'Red Flags' But High Grades
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This story was originally published March 30, 2025 at 7:48 AM.
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