Commanders QB Jayden Daniels Already Threatening to be Best in NFC East

The Washington Commanders quarterback has gotten off to a great start, and could do even better than his divisional counterparts in Week 4.

Sep 23, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) runs during the fourth quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images / Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

Tempe, AZ. -- Through three weeks of NFL games Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels has been the best of three currently starting rookie signal-callers.

While Caleb Williams has had up-and-down moments leading the Chicago Bears and Bo Nix is coming off a big Week 3 win for the Denver Broncos, it's Daniels who has made the Commanders a winner and relevant on the national stage with his team in first place in the NFC East Division.

Of course, there's still plenty of football left to play and after the Dallas Cowboys' win over the New York Giants on Thursday night, Washington is now tied with its rival in the overall and divisional win columns. A win on Sunday over the Arizona Cardinals will keep his team ahead of the Cowboys and quarterback Dak Prescott, but that's not the only area Daniels is looking to surpass his veteran counterpart in.

Sep 23, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) runs during the fourth quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images / Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

Daniels already surpassed Prescott last week when he trumped the previous rookie completion percentage record of 88.9 percent with his 91.3 percent performance against the Cincinnati Bengals.

This week, if Daniels has a passer rating of 90 or better and a completion percentage of 70 or better, he'll join Prescott as the only rookie quarterbacks to ever have those numbers in their first four NFL games, according to NFL research.

But the rookie doesn't have his sights set on Prescott alone. With 64 rushing yards against the Cardinals Daniels would surpass former Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III who had 234 yards rushing in his first four career games. That would be a Super Bowl era record, and obviously a franchise high as well.

Along the way, however, Daniels could pass some other notable names including Daunte Culpepper (Minnesota Vikings), Randall Cunningham (Philadelphia Eagles), and Steve Young (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) with rushing outputs of five, 16, and 24 yards respectively.

If Daniels gets a rushing touchdown on Sunday he'll join Griffin, but also Cam Newton (Carolina Panthers), and Anthony Richardson (Indianapolis Colts) as the only quarterbacks in the Super Bowl era with four rushing touchdowns in their first four games.

Of course, surpassing or matching Prescott also means performing better than fellow NFC East quarterbacks Daniel Jones (New York Giants) and Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia Eagles) through the first four games of each of their careers as well, and puts Daniels on a track to become the best quarterback in the division.

A pretty good way to start your first round pick history if you're Commanders general manager Adam Peters.

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