After an outstanding rookie season with the Washington Commanders, all eyes are on whether quarterback Jayden Daniels can avoid the dreaded sophomore slump. Daniels led the team to a breakout year, snapping a decades-long playoff drought and guiding them to the NFC Championship Game.
But with a full offseason to study his tendencies, opposing defenses will be better prepared in Year 2. Fortunately for Washington fans, one NFL insider reports that the Commanders are already implementing a strategy to keep Daniels one step ahead.
NFL Insider on Dan Quinn’s Plan for Jayden Daniels and Commanders
Daniels became the first rookie in NFL history to rush for over 800 yards and throw for more than 3,500, finishing with 3,568 passing yards and 891 rushing yards last season. He led the Commanders to a 12-5 record and their first NFC Championship Game appearance since 1991, throwing 25 touchdown passes, running for six more, and completing 69.0% of his throws.
As he enters Year 2, NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe recently revealed that Daniels had undergone a variety of changes, including bulking up to manage extra load as the Commanders still lack a rushing threat.
“The first thing people noticed when he got into Year 2 is he’s been bulking up, he’s been in the weight room,” he said. “That was the question coming out of the draft: Will he be big enough? He played all 17 games and is getting a little bigger to handle the workload this year.”
However, the most notable change the Commanders are making is altering their offensive scheme. Wolfe revealed that Quinn had been spending a lot of time with Daniels analyzing the defenses and discussing the strategies that could be used to counter him based on his rookie year.
How Jayden Daniels & Dan Quinn are working to combat defenses catching up to #Commanders star QB tendencies like no huddle so Daniels has dynamic Year 2.
For @nflnetwork The Insiders: pic.twitter.com/CtdBv2gy0a
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) June 27, 2025
“Still, maybe the most interesting thing I learned this offseason is Dan Quinn told me he’s been spending more meeting time with Jayden Daniels, talking defensive tendencies, schemes, ways teams are trying to get advantage of him in year 2 and one example they gave me is they ran hundreds more no huddle offensive plays last year than any other team. They had tremendous success with them, but the defenses are going to find the answer to it.
So, they have been working a lot this offseason on beyond the no-huddle. Getting into the huddle, how to handle different blitzes and scheme changes so that Daniels can be ahead of the changes that defenses bring this year.”
While these are hypothetical scenarios that Quinn and Daniels would be discussing regarding the possible strategies defenses could use to counter him, all signs point to the quarterback having an equally good season as last year, if not better.
The addition of All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr., who was acquired this offseason to strengthen Daniels’ arsenal, is one such sign. Once thought of as a work-in-progress, the Commanders are quickly shaping into one of the league’s most intriguing offensive threats.