Who is Jayden Daniels? The breakout QB taking Washington to the top of the NFL

Jayden Daniels is a young quarterback who plays for the Washington Commanders in the NFL. He was the second overall pick of the 2024 draft.

Jayden Daniels had an impressive rookie season in the NFL in 2024, when he took the Washington Commanders to the NFC Championship that they lost to the future Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles. The team had a 12-5 score in the regular season, and Daniels ended his rookie season as a Pro Bowler and the offensive rookie of the year.

Here’s all you need to know about Jayden Daniels, his college career, and how he became a star quarterback in his first NFL season.

Who is Jayden Daniels?

Jayden Daniels is the Washington Commanders starting quarterback since 2024, when the team drafted him. He’s known for being a dual-threat quarterback, which means he’s as impactful rushing with the ball as he is passing it.

He played most of his college career in Arizona State, but had his peak in his senior years when playing for LSU in 2023. The Washington Commanders picked him in the 2024 NFL Draft with the second overall pick.

Ahead of the 2025 season, some NFL experts think Daniels is a “scary” QB to play against, and top 2025 draft prospect Cam Ward thinks he’s the best QB in the NFL.

Jayden Daniels height, weight, and age

His body frame is similar to QBs Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals) and Jordan Love (Green Bay Packers).

Jayden Daniels Stats

Here are Jayden Daniels’ stats in college and in the NFL.

College

Passing stats

	Team	Games	Record	Cmp%	Yds	Yards/Attempt	TD	Int	Rtg
2019	Arizona State	12	8–4	60.7	2,943	8.7	17	2	149.2
2020	Arizona State	4	2–2	58.3	701	8.3	5	1	145.7
2021	Arizona State	13	8–5	65.4	2,38	7.9	10	10	136.2
2022	LSU	14	10–4	68.6	2,913	7.5	17	3	144.5
2023	LSU	12	9–3	72.2	3,812	11.7	40	4	208.0
Career	All	55	37–18	66.3	12,749	8.9	89	20	158.4

Rushing stats

	Team	Yds	Yards/Attempt	TD
2019	Arizona State	355	2.8	3
2020	Arizona State	223	6.8	4
2021	Arizona State	710	5.1	6
2022	LSU	885	4.8	11
2023	LSU	1,134	8.4	10
Career	All	3,307	5.4	34

Daniels’ incredible versatility as a dual-threat quarterback, who could pass for almost 4,000 yards while going close or beyond the 1,000 rushing yards, made him break several college records.

This versatility also made him a top quarterback ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft. He was picked second overall, only behind Caleb Williams.

NFL

Year	Games	Record	Cmp%	Yds	Yards/Attempt	TD	Int
2024	17	12-5	69.0	3,568	7.4	25	9

While Daniels stats compared to other QBs don’t put him on the top of the stats list, he broke three NFL rookie records:

On top of that, Daniels rushed for six touchdowns, making his total contributions to the Commanders add up to 4,459 yards and 31 touchdowns throughout the season.

Jayden Daniels awards

Photo by Jeff Speer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

In college, Jayden Daniels earned all of his major awards in 2023.

His biggest accomplishment was winning the 2023 Heisman Trophy, awarded to the best college football player of the season. He also received two other honors that recognized the same achievement: College Football Player of the Year and the Walter Camp Award.

Daniels also took home three additional awards that recognized him as the best quarterback in college football that year: the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, Davey O’Brien Award, and Manning Award. His standout season in 2023 also earned him Consensus All-American honors and a spot on the First-team All-SEC.

In the NFL in 2024, Daniels was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, selected to the Pro Bowl, and honored as a member of the PFWA All-Rookie Team.