There will be 257 players entering the NFL via the draft this week and they’ll be trying to replicate the kind of success that Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels had upon entering the league last year.
Daniels was voted the offensive rookie of the year for his play in the regular season and the second overall pick of the draft took his team to the NFC title game to cap a remarkable rookie campaign. If anyone was caught off guard the first time they saw Daniels, they will be ready for him this time around and he told former NFL head coach Jon Gruden how he’s preparing to be the center of everyone’s attention during the 2025 season.
“You’re always trying to find little ways to get better,” Daniels said on Gruden Goes Long. “For me, it’s like, ‘Last year was last year, that’s great.’ But it’s a whole new year now. I still got to go out there, I’ve gotta prove myself to my teammates, the organization, each and every day that I’m getting better. When it’s time to prepare and when those games come, I’ve got to know that, ‘Hey, how can I eliminate some tendencies?’ Stuff like that, because that’s the big thing. Coaches are always trying to find tendencies of what this player is going to do so they can anticipate and hopefully get you in that situation.”
It’s easy to imagine that having more time in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense and the experience of an NFL season will make Daniels an even better player in 2025, but improvement isn’t guaranteed and other players have taken a step back once the league adjusts to them. Daniels’s awareness of that possibility should help his chances of avoiding it.
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