DETROIT — Welcome to the Commanders, Jayden Daniels!
Washington selected Daniels with the second pick in the NFL draft on Thursday night, choosing the Heisman Trophy winner out of LSU over North Carolina’s Drake Maye, Washington's Michael Penix Jr. and Michigan national champion J.J. McCarthy. Unlike Chicago leading off with Caleb Williams as expected, the Commanders kept everyone, including the AP’s college football player of the year, in suspense until the last moment.
“They did a pretty good job of not showing their hand too much,” Daniels said. “But I was pretty confident based off the conversations that we had that I was able to come here and fit into the Commanders team. I’m here now. I can’t wait to get to work.”
Daniels had for quite some time been the favorite to go to the Commanders, though buzz over the past week put that in doubt after reports surfaced that he and his agent were not happy with the team hosting four QB prospects at once. Daniels, May, McCarthy and Penix all visited the practice facility and area together, including a group trip to Topgolf, something general manager Adam Peters called overwhelmingly positive.
Peters said Daniels was the choice for a while: unanimous within the front office to the point the Commanders were ready to run the draft card up when they were on the clock. There was no concern about Daniels refusing to play for Washington.
"My message to him is just keep being himself because that's what's gotten him here. He's built to handle all this and that's on and off the field," Peters said. "He's built for this, we have a great team around him that will help him. Nobody can do this on their own. We're going to do a great job surrounding him with whatever he needs to handle everything, but he can do it."
Daniels becomes the centerpiece of the Commanders’ rebuilding process and roster overhaul under Peters and an ownership group led by Josh Harris that has been in charge since August.
"Selecting a winner like Jayden Daniels will energize the players and our fan base!" co-owner Magic Johnson posted on social media.
Daniels himself told WUSA9's Chick Hernandez he's excited to work with the new ownership. He had a message for fans, too. He urged them to stay patient, but said he will work extremely hard under center.
"Change the trajectory. That starts with winning football games, going 1-0 every single day. I'm excited," he said.
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