How good can Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels be in 2024? The odds favor Bears quarterback Caleb Williams to finish ahead of Daniels (the No. 2 pick) for the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
There is a case to be made for both rookies. On paper, the Bears appear to have a better team, which makes sense, considering they were terrible for a few years and are entering the third season under the GM/coach duo of Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus.
Chicago is also stacked at wide receiver with D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen and rookie Rome Odunze.
The Commanders also have a solid supporting cast, although one with some questions. Washington has star wide receiver Terry McLaurin, third-year WR Jahan Dotson and rookie Luke McCaffrey. At tight end, there is veteran Zach Ertz and rookie Ben Sinnott. The backfield is solid, too, with Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler, but Washington’s offensive line remains a question mark.
One clear advantage Daniels has over Williams is his rushing ability. While Williams is an excellent athlete, he often uses his legs to create passing opportunities. Daniels does a little bit of everything. He uses his legs to create passing lanes, but he can also take it 80 yards to the house.
That ability makes Daniels the more attractive fantasy football player for 2024.
Kate Magdziuk of Pro Football Focus recently created a “must-draft list” for the 2024 fantasy football season and named seven players. Daniels was the quarterback she named.
It’s not often that fantasy football managers can spot an opportunity to draft a quarterback with legitimate top-five upside in the eighth-plus round of drafts, but this is absolutely one of those times. Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels is that dude.
It’s no secret that rushing upside has been a common theme among the league’s top fantasy scorers. After all, the overall QB1 in fantasy football has had 500 or more rushing yards in four of the past five seasons. Now, even as a rookie, it’s difficult to even consider five starting quarterbacks with more rushing upside than Daniels (Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson, Anthony Richardson, then…?). What those quarterbacks have in common, beyond their rushing upside, is the fact that they’re all being drafted, on average, in the top-four rounds of drafts.
In 2023, Daniels was the only quarterback in college football to post a 90.0-plus PFF passing grade (92.0) and rushing grade (92.4). He ranked second among all quarterbacks with 1,301 rushing yards, adding another 10 rushing touchdowns to the 40 he threw, with an 8.4% big-time throw rate to complement his 1.7% turnover-worthy play rate that ranked bottom 12 in the league. There’s no better value than Daniels for the upside he presents, in a Kliff Kingsbury system that yielded a career-best 819 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns back in 2020.
Barring an injury, it’s hard to disagree here. While Daniels is an advanced passer, he will still be a rookie. He will have ups and downs, even if he is phenomenal at times. Even through his possible struggles, Daniels can still put up massive numbers.
If Daniels plays in all 17 games, or at least most of Washington’s games, he will put up solid numbers, both as a passer and runner. Those numbers could be even better if the Commanders are behind in many of those games.
So, if you reach the eighth round of a fantasy draft and Daniels is still available, you should probably pick him.
