Jayden Daniels has been named Washington’s starter — for the first preseason game.
Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said in his Tuesday press conference that Daniels has “earned the right” to start the first preseason game, while making it clear that Daniels is listed at QB1 on only the team’s first unofficial depth chart.
“It’s still unofficial, and I’ll let you know when we make final decisions,” Quinn said.
But it seems highly unlikely that Daniels would fall to backup quarterback behind Marcus Mariota, barring a complete preseason collapse.
“I had high expectations for him coming in. But I would say he’s definitely surpassed even my expectations of the readiness, the command,” Quinn said of Daniels. “I knew he was going to be cool knowing the system — like, he’s just got that way about him. But you do see the other players gravitate toward him. They recognize how hard he’s worked at it.”
Washington selected Daniels at No. 2 overall in this year’s draft out of LSU.
Quinn was also complimentary of Mariota, noting that the veteran has had a strong camp.
“This was not something that’s easy to do,” Quinn said. “That’s what real competition is about. I couldn’t think of a better teammate than Marcus for Jayden. The quarterback room has just been remarkable.”
The Commanders will take on the Jets this Saturday at noon ET in New Jersey.
