Jayden Daniels had a rookie season for the ages in 2024. Not only did he win Offensive Rookie of the Year, but he keyed one of the largest single-season turnarounds ever, taking a 4-13 team in 2023 to 12-5 and an NFC Championship Game.
And in the playoffs, he did it all on the road and as an underdog. He, along with Joe Flacco and Mark Sanchez, is one of three rookies ever to start and win two road playoff games. And let’s be honest, Flacco and Sanchez were carried by elite defenses in 2008 and 2009, respectively, while Daniels was really the catalyst of his team’s success.
To do what Daniels did, you have to not only be talented, intelligent, and determined. You also have to stay calm. A 23-year-old rookie QB on the second-biggest stage in the NFL will challenge even the coolest of customers. But Daniels is able to block out the noise. He was asked by a particularly uncool member of Pardon My Take recently about how he stays so cool, and Daniels turned it around on him.
“It’s kinda hard. … You could calm down a little bit. (Laughs) Just be more nonchalant. Just be nonchalant. Look up what kids call aura. You gotta get some more aura. Aura-farm all 2025. (Laughs).”
The guy who was asking the question was clearly nervous as all hell. But he did ask a pertinent, if tough-to-answer question. And Daniels certainly didn’t have a concrete answer here anyway. It can be hard to explain intangible parts of our abilities or personalities to others.
Sometimes, it’s best to let your peers, friends, or teammates do it for you. That’s what wideout Luke McCaffrey, younger brother of Christian McCaffrey, did earlier this year when he was describing his QB. He came into the league with Daniels last year as rookies, and the third-round pick out of Rice said he saw how Daniels’ ability to simplify things helps the QB to stay cool and calm under pressure.
“He does such a good job of simplifying the game. A lot of people want to make it complex. … He’s cool, calm, and collected. That is the ultimate way to phrase kind of who he is every day. Never going to be too emotional about everything, yet going to be competitive about everything, right? And so I think that’s such a cool balance, especially at the quarterback position. And so it’s cool to be able to see that and to be able to see just him grow from week in and week out.”
No QB had more dropbacks where he was under pressure during last year’s playoffs than Jayden Daniels, per PFF. He was pressured 47 times, and according to PFF, he had the highest passing grade in those situations, at 85.0. He threw for 246 yards and two TDs with two “Big Time Throws” (a PFF term) while under postseason pressure as a rookie.
That’s pretty cool. But Jayden Daniels will be hoping to go sub-zero in his sophomore effort.
