It's just not Potts and the Bengals. Daniels says one NFL general manager or coach told Rivers during the draft process that as a human being, they couldn't find a negative shred out there about him. "If there is, you're hiding it well," the man told him.
"They try to find stuff. They've got all the resources," Daniels says. "He's just not that guy. It's that old school discipline. Loyal guy."
So loyal that when he and his lifelong teammate, Chantz Williams, his high school and AAU tag-team partner at Oakleaf High School in Jacksonville, Fla., were getting recruited together by the bigs such as Miami, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, etc., Rivers crossed Clemson off the list. Even though they weren't going as a package deal, when Clemson said Chantz wasn't the right size to play D-End, Rivers told Daniels the school was no longer on his list, and he never spoke of Clemson again.
Rivers certainly is heard in the room of offensive line coach Scott Peters, where his attention to detail and quality of questions have been noted by Peters and assistant Mike McCarthy.
"There's not much you need to tell him about being a pro," says Peters, who says it's like talking to "a multi-year veteran."
"He already has that kind of conduct as he walked into the building."
Rivers came off the field one day this week with beads of sweat and Pro Bowl left tackle Orlando Brown Jr.'s advice popping off him. Not exactly the University of Miami, where last season he routinely moved between guard and tackle during games as the Hurricanes racked up the nation's most yards and points per game.
"In college, when you come in, you're learning the system in stages," Rivers says. "Here, when you're a rookie, a lot of things happen. It's faster. A lot more install. You have a lot of independence here, so you have to really make sure you're doing extra. You're a pro now. I'm far away from home. I've worked on my independence. I'm pretty good at that."
Those were his orders for as long as he can remember. Daniels retired from the Navy after 30 years. Rivers' mother, Donna Daniels, retired as a Yeoman Senior Chief 26 years in. His father retired after 20 years as a chief.
Donna and James have been together since Jalen, "was in Pampers." If Rivers or his two older sisters ever wondered aloud about the strict rules of the household, James Daniels would tell them, 'Y'all think I'm hard on you? Compared to your Daeda, I'm being easy on you."