If you factor in individual stats and team success, then it’s safe to say that Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels put together the best rookie QB season of all time in 2024.
All Daniels did as the No. 2 pick of 2024 out of LSU was take over a long-struggling Washington franchise and put together an MVP-caliber season that resulted in the franchise’s best regular-season finish since 1991. Oh, and how about leading Washington to their first playoff victory since 2005?
Everyone now knows Jayden Daniels, the name and football player. But how well do you know Jayden Daniels off the field? Or the past versions of JD that led him to become a must-watch sensation overnight?
Here are 10 interesting facts that you didn’t know about Jayden Daniels.
Do you know any of these facts about Jayden Daniels?
Too Small, Said The Doc
It’s crazy to think about now, but the 6-foot-4, 210-pound signal-caller was considered “too small” to play football back in his youth days. So undersized, in fact, that Daniels needed a note from a doctor to let him play.
Jayden Daniels attended Cajon High — the same school as veteran NFL safety Damontae Kazee — in San Bernardino, California. As the varsity league required players to be 15 years of age, a 14-year-old Daniels had to sign a waiver to play football.
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At the time, Daniels was 5-foot-11 and 125 pounds. He was considered undersized to play youth football, so Daniels required a signature from a medical doctor to hit the gridiron.
Interestingly, Daniels’ first pediatrician refused to do so because of concerns that he would get seriously hurt as an undersized athlete. The search finally ended with another doctor agreeing to sign the waiver, allowing this “too small of a kid” to begin his football career.
Daniels led Cajon to consecutive Citrus Belt League Championships in 2017 and 2018. The league is made up of teams in Southern California. On top of all that, he excelled in hurdling and track and field.
No wonder he’s mastered the art of performing ankle-breakers on would-be tacklers, huh?
Corner To Quarter
Jayden Daniels actually began playing flag football as a five-year-old before making the move to tackle football at age seven. Daniels claims that his father wanted him to follow in his footsteps — more on that later — and play the cornerback position.
In his second year of tackle league, Daniels switched from defense to quarterback. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Given his combination of size, physicality, and speed, it would sure be fun to see Daniels try out cornerback in the modern NFL. But there can only be one Travis Hunter, we suppose!
Mom & Dad’s Football Connections
Daniels is obviously the football star of the family, but his parents have known their way around the game for a long time, too.
Jayden’s parents, Javon Daniels and Regina Jackson, also attended Cajon High School — where they first met. After starring in football there, Javon played cornerback for the Washington Huskies and Iowa State Cyclones in the late ‘90s.
Regina, who was also a high school cheerleader, has been long educated on the game of football. In the early stages of Jayden’s rookie NFL season, Regina became a certified NFLPA agent.
While Daniels isn’t the first NFLer whose parent became a certified agent, CBS Sports reported this interesting tidbit: Regina Jackson is believed to be the first parent of a top-three NFL Draft pick to become an agent.
Jayden Daniels actually has four different agents from Agency 1 Sports: Aston Wilson, Ron Butler, Ira Turner, and Stanley Bien-Aime. Perhaps it’s only a matter of time until Daniels uses his mother as an agent, too.
Four-Star Recruit
As hard as it is to believe now, there was a time when Jayden Daniels wasn’t exactly a can’t-miss prospect heading into the college ranks.
At 247 Sports, Daniels was the No. 35 prospect for the 2019 recruiting class with a four-star rating. Spencer Rattler was the only five-star QB from that class, and the jury is still out on him as a capable NFLer.
Daniels was even lower on ESPN’s 2019 recruit class rankings, placing 44th with a four-star rating. Nix, Rattler, and Graham Mertz were the three quarterbacks ranked ahead of Daniels.
Denver Broncos star Bo Nix and Seattle Seahawks backup Sam Howell were among the four-star QBs, too. Nix, like Daniels, is an example of how you can’t always read too much into star-recruit ratings.
Take some time to go through those two lists and compare most of the guys above Daniels to the present.
NFL Idols
Like so many other NFL stars, Jayden Daniels tried modeling his game after the players he grew up idolizing. How fitting is it that Daniels aced the dual-threat game that was revolutionized by one of his main idols in Michael Vick?
Daniels stated that Vick, former Philadelphia Eagles legendary quarterback Donovan McNabb, and former running back Reggie Bush were his idols. Daniels grew up watching Bush at USC and chose No. 5 because of the former New Orleans Saints star running back.
Daniels also stated that he constantly played as Michael Vick in “Madden 2004” on PlayStation 2 with his cousins. Daniels familiarized himself quickly with Vick’s style of play, and we’d say he did a darn good job in following his idol’s footsteps.
Vick retired as the all-time rushing yards leader by a quarterback, though Baltimore Ravens star Lamar Jackson has since surpassed him. There’s a LONG way to go, of course, but would anybody be surprised if Daniels eventually caught Vick or even Jackson on the all-time leaderboard?
So, kids, remember Daniels’ formula to success: Find your idols, practice their style, ace it, and let the rest play out. Hey, it worked for Washington’s quarterback.
Making ASU Teammates Eat Their Words
Jayden Daniels committed to the Arizona State Sun Devils’ program and took over as their starting quarterback immediately in 2019.
Over his three years there, Daniels threw for 6,024 yards, 32 touchdowns, and only 13 interceptions to go along with 1,288 rushing yards and 13 TDs on the ground. His highlight there was leading the Sun Devils to a victory over Florida State in the 2019 Sun Bowl, with Daniels earning the game’s MVP honors.
In 2022, Daniels stunned his teammates when he announced his plans to enter the transfer portal. ASU lost several top assistant coaches and several key players in the transfer portal.
After the transfer portal news, a video emerged of Daniels’ former Arizona State teammates clearing out his locker and trashing him behind his back. One player can be heard saying that he “sucks anyway.”
Two years later, Daniels was celebrating Heisman Trophy honors after a dream season at LSU: 3,812 passing yards, 40 passing touchdowns, 1,134 rushing yards, and 10 rushing scores.
Oh yeah, and the No. 2 pick of 2024 kind of had perhaps the greatest NFL rookie season ever for a quarterback. But thanks for kindly cleaning out his locker room for him anyway, ex-ASU teammates.
College Showdown With Justin Herbert
Justin Herbert may look like he’s 10 years younger than his actual age, but he’s certainly not a kid anymore. Daniels’ 2024 rookie year marked the fifth NFL campaign for Herbert, who was drafted sixth overall by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020.
Herbert was 22 when the Bolts drafted him. Daniels was 23 and eight months away from his 24th birthday when the Commanders drafted him. But it already feels like Herbert is five years older than Daniels, huh?
Get this for another jaw-dropping stat. While with Arizona State, Daniels and current San Francisco 49ers superstar wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk — also a 2020 first-round pick — went up against Justin Herbert’s Oregon Ducks in a 2019 game.
On Nov. 23, 2019, Herbert and Daniels traded blow-for-blow in one of the best games of the season. Herbert had 304 passing yards and two touchdowns in that game, but Daniels was even better with 408 passing yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
Aiyuk was Daniels’ co-star that night, catching seven passes for 161 yards and a touchdown. The Sun Devils actually had a 17-point fourth-quarter lead, but Oregon’s fourth-quarter rally proved to be too little too late. ASU held on for a 31-28 upset win over the No. 6-ranked Ducks.
The Commanders are slated to visit the Chargers at SoFi Stadium at some point in the 2025 regular season. When they clash, fans will have waited six long years for a rematch between Daniels and Herbert.
Daniels will be in year two by then. Herbert and Aiyuk in their sixth seasons. Man, life comes at you fast.
The Livvy Dunne Connection
Popular social media personality and influencer Livvy Dunne has been part of the LSU gymnastics team since 2021. Daniels came to LSU the following year, so the two-star athletes spent two years together at Baton Rouge.
Dunne and Daniels were among the star Tigers athletes featured in “The Money Game: LSU,” a six-part docuseries that aired on Amazon Prime Video in 2024. The series also focused on Angel Reese, Flau’jae Johnson, Alia Armstrong, and Trace Young.
When Jayden Daniels was named the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner, Dunne celebrated his special night with a touching Instagram post that read, “It’s always been the Tigers.” The image showed Daniels and fellow LSU alumni Joe Burrow, who won the Heisman in 2019.
Dunne, Daniels, and rapper Lil Wayne were also on the stage together during the 2024 ESPYs to present the “Best Play” award. That honor went to Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, who caught his own pass in the AFC Championship Game loss to the Chiefs.
VR Training
You’ve heard countless stories about once-promising NFL Draft prospects who went down as busts largely because they weren’t committed to film study and game preparation. That list includes JaMarcus Russell and Ryan Leaf, of course.
Well, nobody will ever question Daniels’ work ethic. During his first offseason with Washington, Daniels was getting up at 5:45 a.m. each morning for film studying and walk-throughs.
Not only that, but Daniels and Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury implemented virtual reality into the quarterback’s training. With the VR system, Daniels works through A.I. game simulations with Kingsbury’s voice featured in the sessions.
Practice makes perfect, kids. And in today’s world of advanced technology, practice can be fun through the way of VR, too!
The Three Amigos
Diehard sports fans know about the cool combinations of pro athletes who were friends well before turning pro. Klay Thompson and Kevin Love were childhood friends. Amari Cooper and Teddy Bridgewater were high school teammates.
Clayton Kershaw and Matthew Stafford went to high school together. Matthew Tkachuk and Jayson Tatum were also high school pals, too. You get the drift by now.
Betcha didn’t know that Jayden Daniels has been friends with two other young stud signal-callers and top-two picks — none other than Bryce Young of the Carolina Panthers and CJ Stroud of the Houston Texans.
Young and Stroud were selected first and second overall in 2023 by Panthers and Texans, respectively. One year later, Daniels went second overall to Washington after the Chicago Bears used the top pick on Caleb Williams.
Before the 2024 NFL Draft, Daniels worked out extensively with Stroud and Young. The former later revealed that he’s been close friends with the young phenoms for a long time:
“Man, I’ve known Bryce and CJ for years, since we were kids. So really, just being to go out there and compete against them, we’re all competing, we’re all competitors.”
Folks will recall the epic showdown between Young’s Alabama Crimson Tide and Daniels’ LSU Tigers on Nov. 5, 2022. There. Daniels powered LSU to a 32-31 win over the sixth-ranked Crimson Tide after throwing two touchdowns to go along with 95 rushing yards and a rushing score.
Stroud, who also led his team to a surprise playoff appearance in his dazzling rookie year, also told Pat McAfee that he and Daniels talk almost every week, noting that they grew up in the same areas.
After Stroud’s Texans were eliminated by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2024 Divisional Round Round, Houston’s star QB stated that he wanted Daniels’ Commanders to win it all. Stroud also showered his good pal with some big-time praise.
“I’m so proud of him. In my opinion, he’s had the best rookie year of all time,” Stroud said.
Well, the Commanders and Texans are scheduled to face off in 2026. Hopefully the NFL does us right and makes that a prime-time game.