We knew the Bears would take Caleb Williams. We thought Washington would opt for Jayden Daniels. Those both ended up being true, as the chalk hit on the first two picks of the 2024 NFL Draft. Daniels will assume QB1 duties for a Commanders offense that already boasts a solid WR duo in Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson. Washington also figures to add more WR help given Jamison Crowder is currently their WR. Let’s dig into what this pick means from a fantasy perspective.
JAYDEN DANIELS
Projection: 312.0 completions on 518.4 attempts for 3,548.7 yards, 20.8 TDs, and 14.5 interceptions. 110.6 carries for 608.5 yards and 4.7 TDs.
- Daniels is the best running quarterback of the first-round prospects – and that rushing ability means he could be the best Year 1 fantasy asset of the rookie gunslingers, even ahead of Williams. Daniels won the Heisman Trophy in 2023 on the back of a 50-TD season and will look to carry that momentum into the pros. Anthony Amico noted Daniels was incredibly impressive as a true freshman at Arizona State before experiencing extreme hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic, both on and off the field. He got back on the right track after grad transferring to LSU, although there are still concerns about his tendency to take sacks (20.2% pressure-to-sack ratio last year, 24.5% for his career) and throw over the middle of the field. As a 23-year-old rookie (turns 24 in December), Daniels should start right away and figures to be an intriguing fantasy option on account of his rushing ability.
- Daniels is worth a roster spot in fantasy due to his ability to run, but we’ve seen rookie QBs struggle from a real-life standpoint before, and Daniels took some time to adjust to the college game and only had his truly massive season once he had multiple first-round-caliber WRs in Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas. The Commanders’ passing game probably won’t explode in Year 1, but that doesn’t exclude Daniels from fantasy relevancy.
- Our ranking on Daniels won’t change much because he was already expected to be the second overall pick.
OTHER WASHINGTON PLAYERS
- Daniels is more NFL-ready than Drake Maye or J.J. McCarthy, but a large reason for that is his ability to run the ball. Given his propensity for tucking it and going and his enormous sack rate both last season and throughout his college career, Daniels is not ideal for the pass-catchers here from a volume perspective. When he does throw, however, he was highly efficient at LSU and is likely better on a per-attempt basis for his pass-catchers than Maye/McCarthy.
- Daniels had been nearly unanimously mocked to the Commanders at No. 2 overall, so one would think the best ball markets were already accounting for him as the QB1 for McLaurin, Dotson, and the running backs.
- With Crowder at WR3 and Zach Ertz as TE1 on the current depth chart, the Commanders need more pass-catchers, especially after Dotson had a pretty disappointing sophomore campaign. They figure to draft more help at WR/TE, so we’ll see who they get. McLaurin’s role as Week 1 WR1 shouldn’t be challenged; everyone else has some risk of losing volume.
