It’s no secret that Jayden Daniels was the hot favorite of this year’s NFL draft. Many teams were vying for the Heisman Trophy winner, including the Los Angeles Raiders. However, the quarterback from LSU was selected by the Washington Commanders as the No. 2 pick, leaving a significant gap that Raiders wideout Davante Adams didn’t shy away from admitting.
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During a recent appearance on the Up & Adams Show, Adams had some words of praise for the rookie after he performed exceptionally well this week against the Bengals. This prompted Adams to reflect that the Raiders had hoped other teams wouldn’t scoop up Daniels during the draft — so that they could with pick 13.
“I mean, he [Jayden Daniels] won the Heisman for a reason. He’s a special player. We were hoping that maybe all the teams didn’t think so and he could slip down to the Raiders a little while ago. But he’s out there doing his thing.
“It’s impressive to watch at such a young kid and a lot of expectations coming in. It’s hard to perform like that, especially on a team that’s been struggling for a while. So, really proud of him. It looked like he’s been able to turn it around a little bit,” he continued.
#Raiders 3x All Pro WR Davante Adams on Commanders QB Jayden Daniels…
“He’s a special player. We were hoping that all the teams didn’t think so and he could slip to the Raiders.”
Raiders had the 13th pick in the 2024 NFL draft.@heykayadams @tae15adams pic.twitter.com/8tqpK6bPr7
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) September 24, 2024
While Daniels’ collegiate success was undoubtedly the main reason everyone had their eyes on him, the Raiders had another connection. Their head coach, Antonio Pierce, knew the QB from his time as an assistant coach, which fans and analysts predicted would be a good plan.
But the rookie quarterback found his new home in Washington. The potential fans saw in Daniels has certainly proven to be true, albeit elsewhere, as the rookie is already setting records in his debut season in the league.
Jayden Daniels is on a record-breaking spree
In the Week 3 matchup against the Joe Burrow-led Cincinnati Bengals, Daniels exceeded everyone’s expectations by leading Washington to a 38-33 victory. The LSU product amassed 254 yards, and two touchdowns, and completed 21 out of 23 passes. He also rushed for 39 yards, with 12 carries and 1 touchdown.
These numbers sum up to a completion rate of 91.3%, setting the record for the highest completion percentage achieved by a rookie in a game. Daniels further became the first QB to “rush for at least three touchdowns, pass for at least two touchdowns, and not throw an interception through his first three career games,” as per Stathead.
Speaking of records, it’s also worth noting that the Commanders vs. Bengals matchup was the first game since 1940 to have not a single interception or punt.
Jayden Daniels has proved his worth as the No. 2 pick with his Week 3 performance. With his draft, the Commanders get exactly what they were missing — a reliable signal-caller to lead the team to wins. The only thing left is to wait and see if the rookie can keep up the high when he plays against the Cardinals on Sep 30.
