They're baby steps, but the Commanders took another one Tuesday toward the expected regarding quarterback.
Rookie Jayden Daniels will start in Washington's first preseason game this week, coach Dan Quinn told reporters.
"On the first unofficial depth chart, he is (QB1)," Quinn announced Tuesday.
Daniels has been expected to be Washington's starter since the moment the Commanders spent the second-overall pick on him in April's draft, but Quinn has not simply anointed him as such during camp, choosing to slow-cook Daniels' ascension into the top job. It might seem performative, but it's how Quinn is choosing to operate, and he made incremental progress toward the inevitable by announcing Daniels has earned the right to start in Washington's preseason opener.
"He's earned that right to do that," Quinn said of Daniels. "Through the course of all the practices, you're keeping track of accuracy and completions and decisions of where it goes. It was really a byproduct of him really nailing those moments. Like I said, we're just going through the whole process, but it's good to see when there's markers set, you get that one. Then you get to the next one and you get to the next one. The good news is Jayden and Brandon (Coleman) and Mike Sainristil and others, they're the type of competitors that want to go after things. So for them, having some markers to go after, I think that's a really good thing because that really suits their personality and their competitive nature, as well."
Quinn is in the first year of his new gig in D.C., and it seems as if he's attempting to establish a standard of expectation. Applying it to the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner and chosen savior of the franchise is a good place to start, even if it isn't entirely believable that any other outcome is possible.
Judging by Quinn's tone Tuesday, we might be nearing the end of this process.
"I had high expectations for him coming in, but I would say he's definitely surpassed even my expectations of the readiness, the command," Quinn said. "I knew he was gonna be cool, knowing the system. He's just got that way about him. You do see the other players gravitate toward him. They recognize how hard he's worked at it.
"I'd also be mistaken [not] to say Marcus (Mariota) has had a really good camp, too. This was not something that was easy to do. That's what real competition is about. I couldn't think of a better teammate than Marcus for Jayden. The quarterback room, like I said, has just been remarkable."
Remarkable indeed, with two Heisman winners (Mariota won it at Oregon in 2014) sharing the same space. Make no mistake, though: Provided Daniels is healthy and continues on this trajectory, it will be the rookie's job come Week 1. He'll get his first chance to show why Saturday against the Jets.
