Commanders’ Jayden Daniels is ready to quiet the critics entering his third NFL season

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — As magical as Jayden Daniels’ rookie year was, the quarterback’s sophomore season was equally underwhelming. He played in just seven games for the Washington Commanders, who stumbled to a 5-12 record.

Now the pressure is high on Daniels and the Commanders entering the 2026 season. His durability has been questioned. The offensive line in front of him has been average at best during training camp, especially after left tackle Laremy Tunsil injured his left triceps.

Daniels and Washington’s starting offense did little to quiet those concerns in recent weeks. The starters played just three snaps in the preseason — one drive at Detroit — and Daniels was pressured or sacked on both of his drop-backs. The offensive line struggled significantly the following week during a joint practice with Baltimore.

Daniels said Wednesday he’s not concerned about the outside scrutiny.

“Everybody has an opinion, no matter if it’s good or bad,” he said. “It’s nothing I could really control to the point everybody’s going to say something. The only thing that matters to me is the people inside that building, my family and helping the Washington Commanders win football games to be the best version of myself.”

Offensively, the Commanders should look a lot different this season than they did the past two years under Kliff Kingsbury. New offensive coordinator David Blough prefers his QB to spend more time under center, something Daniels has never done before to this extent.

Learning a new system led to more training camp snaps for Daniels. That was a source of excitement for coach Dan Quinn.

“Just knowing how much work that he’s put into the system, I’d like to see that execution take place,” Quinn said. “He’s really in very good command of it. … The way he’s able to express himself in the offense, I can’t wait to see that.”

The Commanders didn’t showcase much of what the new offense will look like when facing Miami and Baltimore during joint practices. That was by design, with road divisional matchups at Philadelphia and Dallas to begin the season.

“I guess we all got to see on Sunday,” Daniels said when asked about the offense’s capabilities. “We’ll see Week 1 and then next week, and hopefully we look up Week 15 and we’re a better offense than we were Week 1.”

Daniels goes into his third season with four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs and tight end Chig Okonkwo added to a group of skill players led by top receiver Terry McLaurin. Daniels and Diggs have already started to form solid chemistry.

“He’s a superstar,” Diggs said of Daniels. “He can put the ball anywhere. He can use his legs. He makes good decisions. As a receiver, you just want to be open.”

Through his first two seasons, much of the Commanders’ offensive success relied on Daniels’ heroics. The goal now is for that not to be the case.

“I trust those guys to go out there and make plays,” Daniels said. “I love basketball. Just being a point guard, getting the ball to playmakers, the ball in space, and let them do their thing. When it’s time for me … to go get a bucket, I’ve got to go do that sometimes.”

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