Commanders’ Playmaker Makes Bold Statement On Jayden Daniels

The Washington Commanders selected Jayden Daniels with the second overall pick of the NFL Draft late last month, hoping to end their woes at quarterback.

Wide receiver Jahan Dotson in particular is very excited to have Daniels in tow, saying he wanted the LSU standout all along.

“He’s great,” Dotson said, via Grant Gordon of NFL.com. “I don’t know if I can say this, but that’s the quarterback that I wanted. But yeah, I was happy when we drafted him, I’m really looking forward to building a relationship with him, furthering our relationship, as I’ve known him in the past, but he’s been good so far. He’s only been here a couple days now, but he has big things coming for him.”

Since entering the NFL as a second-round draft pick of the Commanders in 2022, Dotson has already been through three starting signal-callers.

He is hoping the fourth time is the charm.

“I’ve known him since I was coming out in the draft,” Dotson said of Daniels. “We were training together before he transferred to LSU, when we were down in Arizona. So, we built a little relationship there, and then I kept up with him while he was at LSU. Obviously, he was the best player in college football last year, so yeah, it was really cool that we got to team up and go at it this year.”

Dotson is coming off of a 2023 campaign in which he played every game and hauled in 49 receptions for 518 yards and four touchdowns.

The Penn State product appeared in 12 contests during his rookie season in 2022, catching 35 passes for 523 yards and seven scores.

Washington rolled with Sam Howell under center last season. Howell got off to a good start, but faded down the stretch and ultimately lost his job to Jacoby Brissett. However, he quickly got his job back after Brissett got injured.

The Commanders then traded Howell earlier this offseason, clearing the way for them to select Jayden Daniels.

Daniels had a brilliant campaign in 2023, throwing for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 72.2 percent of his passes. He also racked up 1,134 yards and 10 scores as a rusher en route to winning the Heisman Trophy.

Washington has made just five playoff appearances since 1993 and has not won a playoff game since January 2006. The Commanders are certainly hoping that Jayden Daniels can change the trajectory of the downtrodden franchise.