In the days leading up to the NFL Draft, there has been more drama over Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders’ No. 2 overall pick than any other player.
First, Daniels’ agent was seemingly upset that the Washington Commanders had four quarterback prospects in for a visit at the same time. Then there was the notion that was all settled and the Commanders were set on Daniels as their pick, via Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson.
But it wasn’t done yet.
On Wednesday morning there was a report that Daniels would rather play for Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce, who recruited him to Arizona State, or Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell via Dianna Russini of The Athletic. Herm Edwards, who was the head coach at Arizona State when Pierce was on his staff, told “You Better You Bet” that the Raiders want Daniels.
That’s why, about 36 hours before the draft, Daniels had to be asked if he’d be OK being taken with the second overall pick of the draft to Washington.
Jayden Daniels is OK with Commanders
Daniels said he’s good with the Commanders drafting him, though his comments did seem to be a touch lukewarm on the subject.
Daniels said he’s “blessed to go wherever I’m called,” and then when pressed on whether he’s OK going to Washington he said “100 percent” he is, according to Sam Fortier of the Washington Post.
Reporter: “There’s speculation that you may not want to go to Washington. Do you want to just squash that?”
Jayden Daniels: “I’m blessed to go wherever I’m called. Whoever calls my phone, (when the) commissioner gets up and says my name, I’ll be blessed, and they’re going to get… pic.twitter.com/UVDbZNSrwe
— Sam Fortier (@Sam4TR) April 24, 2024
That answers the question, but people will look for clues. Should Daniels have been a little more adamant that he’s excited to go to Washington? Perhaps. But it’s a tough position for a player to be in, not knowing what will happen Thursday night when the draft starts.
Either way, it doesn’t matter much if Washington is set on the pick.
Daniels is an exciting prospect
On Monday, Robinson wrote that “there is a solid belief across the league that Daniels has come into hard focus at No. 2 overall.” Unless there’s a last-minute change of heart, that should settle it.
Daniels could want to play for Pierce or O’Connell and the Raiders might absolutely love Daniels, and it makes absolutely no difference if the Commanders aren’t interested in trading the pick or drafting anyone else. Assuming the Bears take Caleb Williams first overall, the moment the Commanders take Daniels makes the rest of the chatter around the pick a waste of time.
There’s still time, though not that much, for things to change on the Commanders’ end. It’s a massive decision for a franchise that needs an exciting young quarterback to lead its rebuild. We’ll take Daniels at his word and figure that if he’s the pick to Washington, it will be an exciting moment for both sides.
