Jayden Daniels’ rookie season was one of the best we’ve ever seen from a first-year quarterback in NFL history. Showing remarkable confidence and growth throughout the year, he transformed a franchise long defined by failure, taking the team from the No. 2 overall pick all the way to the NFC Championship Game.
Washington offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury played a major role in Daniels’ success, designing an offensive system that matched the quarterback’s skill set and brought out the best version of him from day one. In a recent press conference, Kingsbury spoke about Daniels’ outlook for 2025, saying he believes the quarterback could be even more dangerous in his second season.
Kliff Kingsbury Explains How Jayden Daniels is Evolving Ahead of Year 2
Daniels’ mindset has been in the right place from the moment he entered the NFL. From studying the playbook to leveraging artificial intelligence and even virtual reality to sharpen his reads, he embraced the study habits required to succeed as a quarterback in the league, something that stood out to Kingsbury.
The coach noted that Daniels looks even more comfortable and natural heading into 2025.
“I mean, just watching him move around, he’s not thinking as much, he’s playing fast, and letting his natural gifts kind of take over, and that’s what we want to see,” Kingsbury said via the press conference.
Every Jayden Daniels touchdown from his incredible rookie season 🔥😎@JayD__5 | @commanders pic.twitter.com/xzF006q0z5
— NFL (@NFL) May 19, 2025
The Commanders’ offense ranked sixth in the PFSN Offense+ Metric in 2024, a major leap for a unit that had been among the league’s worst the year before. For 2025, the addition of Deebo Samuel is one of the franchise’s key moves to continue surrounding Daniels with weapons that can help unlock his full potential.
Kingsbury also highlighted Daniels’ self-taught ability, noting that it sets him apart and accelerates his development compared to other quarterbacks.
“He works extremely hard,” Kingsbury said. “I mean, that’s all he kind of thinks about is how he can get better and watches a ton of film, watches a ton of football overall. And so, that organically really takes care of itself in a way when you have a guy who wants to be that great. He is very highly motivated to be as good as he can be, and that’s always exciting for the organization.”
Continuity within the coaching staff is another key factor helping Daniels elevate his game. Without the need to learn a new system, he can focus on refining and building upon an already established foundation. The constant turnover of coaches is one reason why someone like Trevor Lawrence has struggled to find consistent success in the league.
If Kingsbury’s prediction holds true and Daniels finishes the 2025 season even stronger than his impressive rookie campaign, there’s a legitimate chance he enters the MVP conversation and cements himself as an elite NFL quarterback. The tools are there, and so is the mindset to sustain long-term success.