With a full offseason behind him and rising expectations, Jayden Daniels is no longer just the promising rookie who dazzled fans last fall. The Washington Commanders quarterback enters his second NFL season with a strong command of the huddle and a renewed focus on elevating his team to the next level.
When the Commanders selected Daniels with the second overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, they knew they were getting a dynamic dual-threat athlete. However, they did not anticipate how quickly Daniels would evolve into a leader who sets the tone with his voice.
Jayden Daniels Finds Voice in Second NFL Season, Kicks Teammate Out of Huddle After Mistake
In his rookie season, Daniels turned heads with a series of dazzling performances and poise uncommon for a first-year signal-caller. He finished the season with 3,568 passing yards, 25 touchdowns, and nine interceptions while adding 891 yards and another six scores with his legs. He was named the Offensive Rookie of the Year, giving fans in the nation’s capital a reason to be optimistic about the future.
This year, it’s not just about making highlight plays. Something has shifted, with Daniels fully embracing his role as a team leader. That transformation became evident during a recent practice when Daniels removed a teammate from the huddle after a false start penalty.
According to Commanders running back Austin Ekeler, that moment epitomizes Daniels’ growth since joining the team.
“He said, ‘Get out, we can’t be doing that,'” Ekeler said. “That’s leadership we wouldn’t have seen last year. He’s holding the standard, letting everyone know this is how we play. If you’re not playing at this level, you can’t be on the field. That’s awesome to see in a quarterback.”
Daniels confirmed that he kicked a teammate out of the huddle and shared his reasoning.
“That’s something I didn’t do last year,” Daniels admitted in an interview with NFL Network. “But this year, DQ (head coach Dan Quinn) harps on it — he got on us a couple times in meetings like, ‘Hey, we gotta be cleaner. The pre-snap penalties and fouls that we had, we can’t have those.’
“So as soon as that happened, it was a hot day and a lot of people out there were irritated and aggravated, so I might have been a little aggravated. I didn’t go off on the dude, on the player, but I just looked to the sideline like, ‘Yeah, somebody else come in.'”
After a false start at #Commanders camp this week, Jayden Daniels kicked the player out of the huddle. More assertiveness from the franchise QB in Year 2: “That’s something I didn’t do last year.” Daniels with me and @ColleenWolfe on Inside Training Camp Live👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/u0uLip2bfg
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 2, 2025
Head coach Dan Quinn has praised Daniels’ ability to process defensive schemes more quickly and confidently.
“The more time in the system, it slowed down in a way,” Quinn said earlier in camp. “He could process things so much more quickly that it was harder to fool him on certain looks or certain things that would come up. There’s some real confidence that comes with that.”
Daniels is not shying away from his newfound vocal role. He told reporters that accountability is now one of his top priorities for himself and his teammates.
“I’m the one that has to uphold the standard,” Daniels said. “If guys are false-starting, it’s next guy up. I hold myself accountable. If I mess up, I look to Zach [Ertz] and guys like that to hold me accountable.”
While this attitude might sound cliché during training camp, it carries significant weight in the locker room for a second-year quarterback. It is early in the season, but the Commanders appear to have a quarterback who is not only ready to perform but also ready to lead.
