When you have the kind of rookie season Jayden Daniels had with the Washington Commanders, people are going to notice.
Especially his peers. Patrick Mahomes, the guy every NFL quarterback is chasing, specifically talked about what stood out most to him when analyzing Daniels' magical year and what it means for the future when he spoke with reporters during Wednesday's Super Bowl media availability.
"I mean, [he's] extremely talented. But I think from watching the tape, especially watching the games he played against the Eagles this year, it was cool to even see his progression throughout the season from the games that he played, and you could tell he got better and better," Mahomes told reporters. "And that's what you want to do in the NFL. You can be talented, you can make all the throws, but can you progress? And can you learn what the offenses are doing to account for you and get better from that? And it seemed like he did that all year long.
"It's going to be just the start of a great career. So, extremely talented, great football player, and (he) deserves all the honors that he'll get."
The Commanders obviously will go as far as Daniels takes them, but the best part about all that is the team already has a few pieces in place to keep him on track and it has the proper infrastructure to build around its star quarterback. With more than $68 million in effective cap space and seven draft picks, the Commanders are certainly in a good spot to make some impactful moves during the offseason.
The culture is built. The quarterback is on the roster. Now, it's all about sharpening things up across the roster and it'll be easy to see why the Commanders can become a team that others will be chasing for the foreseeable future.
