Commanders took huge risk selecting Jayden Daniels over Drake Maye in 2024 NFL Draft

It's not the pick I would have made...

Apr 25, 2024; Detroit, MI, USA; LSU Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels poses after being selected by / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Commanders took huge risk selecting Jayden Daniels over Drake Maye in 2024 NFL Draft

1. Was Jayden Daniels a product of his environment?
2. What is lacking from the game of Daniels vs. that of Maye
3. Is Kliff Kingsbury going to set Daniels up for success?

The Washington Commanders are hoping to have found their quarterback of the future, selecting Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels with the second overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. However, was he the correct choice over Drake Maye, who went third overall to the New England Patriots?

This pick was a topic of conversation in the latest episode of the Daft on Draft Podcast. The full audio of the conversation can be found on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

The Daft on Draft Podcast scouting series begins today... First up: @QBKlass!

Defining "arm talent," contextualizing accuracy, and more, Derrik and I talk about the important details of evaluating quarterbacks.

Spotify: https://t.co/8oESRZw5wN

Apple:https://t.co/tBymGX36my pic.twitter.com/9aJfB4kCNS

— Cory (@fakecorykinnan) May 10, 2024

There are reasons to have skepticism about Daniels' transition to the NFL and with the Commanders. Here are some talking points addressed in the Daft on Draft Podcast.

Was Jayden Daniels a product of his environment?

"I was stunned Washington went with Jayden Daniels over him, who's won a good bit older, a late bloomer. Yes, he won the Heisman. But again, if we're talking about the talent surrounding him, Drake Maye played behind a pretty bad offensive line with his best receiver being a fourth round pick this year in Tez Walker. And we're talking about Jayden Daniels, who played behind two future first round picks at offensive tackle, two first round picks at wide receiver. So that's where I remain a little bit skeptical of his transition to the NFL."

What is lacking from the game of Daniels vs. that of Maye

"He's a great athlete. I don't think the arm talent is top-tier, it's top-shelf, right? We're talking about his arm talent and the velocity is not there. his accuracy is great, especially down the field, but he doesn't always have the arm to get it there. He doesn't have the arm to drive the football into tight windows. I also don't have a great deal of respect for Kliff Kingsbury, who's going to be his offensive coordinator. Just an iffy pick all around for me. Again, I respect what he did at the college level. He was a lot of fun to watch. But we're talking about traits, tools, projection to the NFL."

Is Kliff Kingsbury going to set Daniels up for success?

"Again, with all of these quarterbacks, and their transition to an NFL offense from the offense they were playing in, I think probably Jayden Daniels has the shortest runway. But again, what LSU is doing, he's throwing a lot of slot fades, a lot of verticals to Malik Nabers, to Brian Thomas, right? These talents that he has, a lot of leaks to his tight end. So I don't know if he's he's going to be doing a lot of the same stuff with Kliff Kingsbury, but we haven't seen a lot of success from a Kingsbury just raid-style, pure raid-style offense in the NFL. We just haven't. So that'll be interesting."