Jayden Daniels started his NFL career with a bang, being named Offensive Rookie of the Year and leading the Washington Commanders to the NFC Championship Game. He started all 17 games, posting a 12-5 record, but will he go through a sophomore slump?
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud had a similar start in his rookie season but took a big step backward in Year 2. ESPN’s Sam Acho recently explained how Washington can prevent the same thing from happening to Daniels.
Sam Acho Explains How Jayden Daniels Can Avoid Sophomore Slump
Daniels was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and immediately shook up the NFC East. Washington went from 4-13 in 2023 to 12 wins and a Wild Card berth in Daniels’ first season, with the rookie throwing for 3,568 yards, 25 touchdowns, and nine interceptions.
He proved his dual-threat ability, adding 891 rushing yards and six scores on the ground, and ranked No. 9 in PFSN’s QB+ metric. Defenses didn’t know how to handle the rookie, and Washington rode the wave to the NFC Championship Game.
Stroud was also named Offensive Rookie of the Year after his first season leading the Texans to an AFC South title and the Divisional Round of the playoffs. But what the Commanders and Daniels want to avoid is a drop-off similar to Stroud’s in Year 2.
The 2024 season brought Houston another division title, but the second-year QB threw for fewer yards (3,727) and touchdowns (20). Stroud also added 12 interceptions, seven more than the year before, and came in at No. 27 in the QB+ metric.
Many of Stroud’s troubles could be attributed to poor offensive line play and losing his receiving corps, but Acho says Daniels and his coaches need to self-scout in the offseason.
"In order to not have that slump like we saw with C.J. Stroud, we're gonna work on some of those little things."@TheSamAcho on the Commanders preventing a Jayden Daniels sophomore slump 👀 pic.twitter.com/q4KEZalMVm
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) February 17, 2025
“It’s got to be up to Jayden Daniels. It’s got to be up to Kliff Kingsbury, the entire coaching staff, to say, ‘Hey, Jayden, I understand how excellent we were, but in order to not have that slump like we saw with C.J. Stroud, we’re going to work on some of those little things.’ Maybe it’s being more structured in the pocket.
“I get it, you love to move around. That’s what makes you great. But let’s work on being more structured. In case you have a guy who’s spying you, maybe little things like that are things that you can do to self-scout and get better.”
Coaches spend part of the offseason looking at what worked or didn’t work during the previous year, and Acho wants Daniels to spend a good chunk of his offseason doing the same.
Houston benefited from a weak division while Stroud slumped in his sophomore season, but Washington doesn’t have that luxury. Daniels needs to keep his foot on the gas this offseason.