Jayden Daniels took the league by storm last season after Washington selected him as the No. 2 overall pick in the draft.
But even with Daniels’ success in 2024 — becoming AP offensive rookie of the year, leading the club to the NFC Championship Game — head coach Dan Quinn has noticed that the quarterback has been particularly motivated this offseason.
“He’s an amazing teammate,” Quinn said in his Thursday press conference, adding that so much of what the QB does is unseen by the public. “There is no flinch in Jayden Daniels. He’s an absolute like, as focused and relentless as you could about getting better. And so that’s why I said for us around here, man, we appreciate that and there’s a lot of things that he and the rest of us are really digging in hard on to say, all right, can we get this better? And if he does that, I do that, others do that … there’s a lot of space we can get better at.”
Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury mentioned on Wednesday that he’s expecting Daniels to take a “big jump” in Year 2, and part of that is the continuity Washington has maintained by keeping much of the coaching staff. That means Kingsbury can expand upon what he did with Daniels in 2024.
“I would say there’s a lot of playbook that people haven’t seen, you know, No. 1,” Quinn said. “You know, featuring some new players and some into some different spots and how important that is to us, to say what can unique players do and find the spots to do. I think Kliff is excellent at that. And so, as we’re going through, that’s what’s kind of fun about now exploring some new thoughts, some new ideas and some scheme while like sharpening on the things like can I go from, you know, really good at something to elite and to the best at this concept, this type of play, this footwork. And so, that’s what we spend a good bit of time doing.”
Still, Daniels’ work ethic and desire to improve have been two critical factors in his development since ending his rookie year.
“I know he’s worked hard through the offseason, but he’s just in command of the things that he wanted to work,” Quinn said. “He and his teammates, they’ve really put in a lot of work together. I’d say that probably is just, it’s felt excellent, in terms of like the attitude of the guys and their work, to really put it in.
“You can sense when people are going for it, and you know, he’s certainly one that is.”
