“He Carries Himself Like a Vet”: Maxx Crosby Compares Jayden Daniels’ Unfazed Attitude to Joe Burrow’s

Jayden Daniels still has (at least) one game to play, but he has already had the greatest rookie season ever by a quarterback. He has won two playoff games on the road and was the main reason for those wins, unlike the other three rookie QBs (Joe Flacco, Mark Sanchez, Brock Purdy) who won multiple playoff games and were carried by strong defenses. Daniels’ physical attributes have been on full display, but it’s his calm demeanor under pressure that has really been turning heads. So much so that Maxx Crosby compared him to one of the top QBs in the league.

Daniels’ poise has been so noticeable that Crosby likened the rookie to Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow, a veteran in his own right. Perhaps it’s something in the water at LSU: both Burrow and Daniels won Heisman Trophies for the Tigers in college.

“He’s never too high or too low, that’s exactly what you see on the sidelines. He’s just over there smiling, doing his thing. You can’t teach it. We talked about Joe Burrow a few weeks ago having that. He’s never fazed, he’s always in his element, but he’s the ultimate competitor. And I think the whole world is getting to see that right now, so it’s been impressive.”

Crosby’s Las Vegas Raiders were lucky enough to dodge Daniels during his epic rookie campaign, but the All-Pro edge rusher still recognized Daniels’ “vet” mentality, even while doing off-field activities.

“What he’s done in such a short time, obviously he’s a rookie. But he carries himself like a vet, he’s got like this calmness to him in all different scenarios. We were out at different events and spending some time together, and he’s just even-keeled.”

Crosby—and pretty much everyone else at this point—sees the unflappability of Daniels no matter what situation he’s in. On the football field, off the football field, he always seems relaxed. There was a viral clip of Giants head coach Brian Daboll grilling Daniels at the combine last year. Daniels stayed calm, cool, and collected despite the million-mile-an-hour pace of the interrogation from Daboll.

Burrow isn’t even the most impressive comparison made for Daniels during this Cinderella playoff run. A guy who knows something about staying calm under pressure, Tom Brady, said that Daniels’ inaugural NFL campaign is reminiscent of the way iconic golfer Tiger Woods burst onto the scene in 1997.

“So, even though Jayden Daniels is just a rookie, he has that poise and confidence. Imagine, I guess, another correlation would be: look at a young Tiger Woods. He never had proven on the big stage that he was ready for those big moments like the Masters in ’97. But he had proved that to himself in all those junior amateurs. He didn’t care who he was playing (against). It was him vs. him.”

Tiger’s claim to fame was being the youngest golfer ever to win the prestigious Masters. Could Jayden Daniels do the same by becoming the first rookie QB ever to start and win a Super Bowl? The journey continues on Sunday afternoon when he and his Commanders travel to Philadelphia to take on the division-rival Eagles in the NFC Championship.