Washington Commanders Scouting Report Leads to QB Jayden Daniels at No. 2

When you look at scouting reports, it only makes it more clear why so many are eyeing Jayden Daniels as the next quarterback for the Washington Commanders.

Nov 4, 2023; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; LSU Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) scrambles away from an Alabama Crimson Tide defender. / Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports

When the Washington Commanders hired Kliff Kingsbury to be their offensive coordinator there were some questions as to whether or not his previous experience with the Arizona Cardinals would help or hurt his second shot at NFL employment.

From there, the links between Kingsbury's style of offense and LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels' style of play were quickly made and since then he's been the most popular choice for the Commanders in mock drafts around the sports speculation world.

Here are some nuggets from quarterback scouts that might interest Washington in making their next biggest decision.

Nov 4, 2023; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; LSU Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) scrambles away from an Alabama Crimson Tide defender. / Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports

From NFL.com's Lance Zierlein, this quarterback never seems to get rattled, is a true dual-threat quarterback, a twitch ball-handler, is elusive in the pocket with an uncommon ability to extend plays and can outrun defenders like a running back.

Dane Brugler of The Athletic said he has a quick release and is a dynamic athlete, a confident competitor, and has sudden feet he uses to elude pass rushers.

Both of those descriptions could apply to Daniels, but in these instances they both apply to Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray.

Now, that's not to say they're carbon copies, but there are a lot of similarities in their scouting reports.

Some would argue Murray showed more full-field usage coming out of college while Daniels was clearly the more effective dual-threat quarterback after achieving career marks no other had hit before him.

And if you made the argument Daniels relies on his athleticism more than Murray did you'd not find many arguments against the take.

The bottom line here, however, is that while Kingsbury definitely learned some things from his first stint in the NFL it's not likely he's going to just change his feathers completely and go away from targeting an uber-athletic playmaker who also has the ability to be an effective passing quarterback.

Pair that with an impactful run game led by running backs Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler, and in a sense Kingsbury gets to run his approach back with a better supporting cast and years of lessons to help him lead a highly coachable prospect.

According to Brugler's scouting report of Daniels he passed up opportunities at much bigger programs to play for head coach Herm Edwards because the coach connected with him in a way no other did.

If Kingsbury and coach Dan Quinn can do that with Daniels entering the NFL they'll get a player who already has dynamic ability but can make good on all the lessons the offensive coordinator learned in his time with Murray in Arizona.

The fact that Quinn has no direct connection to Kingsbury in the workplace and hired him becuase of how hard he was to beat when facing his Cardinals offense, it's also unlikely the head coach is asking the coordinator to too drastically change his approach.

A heavy run game, a dynamic quarterback being compared to the likes of Baltimore Ravens MVP Lamar Jackson and Kansas City Chiefs champion Patrick Mahomes, and a coordinator with four years of experience to lean on all seem like a recipe for success.

Now Washington just has to bring in the right quarterback. And at least for now, that looks like Daniels, who will be visiting the Commanders on Monday.