Jayden Daniels Is No Longer a Must-Start Fantasy Football Quarterback

Michael Fabiano | Nov 15, 2024

Nov 14, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) throws a pass during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The days of Jayden Daniels being a locked-in fantasy football starter are over.

He opened his rookie season on fire in the stat sheets, averaging 22.4 fantasy points in his first six starts. That included five games where he scored at least 19.7 points while compiling an impressive 75.3 completion percentage. He also averaged 53.7 rushing yards per game and had scored four touchdowns on the ground.

Unfortunately, his stats have taken a downward turn over the last month, and it’s become a concern for fantasy managers who have been locking him into their starting lineups.

Since injuring his ribs in a Week 7 game where he was limited to just 10 snaps, Daniels has looked more like a rookie and less like a fantasy star. His fantasy point average has fallen six full points (16 PPG) since Week 8 compared to his first six games, and he’s completed just 59.5% of his passes. That’s a decrease of 15.8% compared to his first six starts.

This decrease in statistical success was on display Thursday night, as Daniels threw for just 191 yards and rushed for 18 yards in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. He finished with 13.4 fantasy points, and most of those points came on the Commanders’ final drive when he threw a touchdown pass to Zach Ertz. He also threw for a two-point conversion. Heading into the fourth quarter, he had scored just 5.4 points.

Daniels’ schedule isn’t the most favorable moving forward, either.

While a Week 12 game against the Dallas Cowboys is attractive and warrants him being a starter, his opponents for the remainder of the fantasy season have allowed the 18th, ninth, fourth and 16th-fewest points per game to opposing quarterbacks. And with his recent trend of modest totals, the rookie out of LSU has become more of a matchup-based option than a locked-in starter.