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Commanders QB Jayden Daniels admits to butterflies ahead of NFL debut

The Commanders will take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday with the No. 2 overall draft pick under center.

ASHBURN, Va. — The days of rookie quarterbacks waiting their turns before taking over teams is long gone. For the third time in four years, there will be three rookie quarterbacks starting the season opener. 

Rookie QBs have a 16-35-1 record in openers, including an 0-7-1 mark the past five seasons. The last rookie QB to win a Week 1 start was Sam Darnold for the New York Jets against Detroit in 2018.

Jayden Daniels, the No. 2 overall pick, will start for the Commanders against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Daniels will be the eighth different Week 1 starting QB for Washington in the past eight seasons, setting a record for the Super Bowl era.

But the game will hardly be the first time Daniels has played in a big-game atmosphere. He played in the SEC, where crowds of 100,000 fans are more common. He dominated in what is widely considered the best conference in college football.

Despite all that, Daniels admitted to some nerves ahead of his NFL debut.

"I get butterflies right before kickoff, but after that it's just football at the end of the day," Daniels said. "God wouldn't put me in a position he didn't feel I was ready for. ... So the whole game week I don't really get nervous. I just go out there and focus on where my feet are. Focus on practice and focus on the day. Don't look too far ahead."

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