Dan Quinn is the type of guy who sees the best in people. When he took over the Dallas Cowboys, he lifted up their flailing defense and made them one of the most recognized ones in the league. He’s focused on doing more with the Commanders as their HC. Many might think that the Washing Commanders are putting all their eggs in one basket with Jayden Daniels. But it would be far from the truth. Quinn is trying to make sure that the team has a top-notch defensive talent that can complement Jayden Daniels.

Just like he did with the Seattle Seahawks, Quinn focused on hiring late-round picks. They say pressure makes diamonds and that’s what Quinn intends to do with players like Jordan Magee (LB), Dominique Hampton (S), and the edge rusher Javontae Jean-Baptiste. Nurturing these rounds fifth and seventh-round picks might come as a priority for Dan Quinn considering his defensive background. Now Dan Quinn is ready for his first challenge!

Dan Quinn on cherry-picking his players

Former NFL DB and a Washington Football loyalist Fred Smoot had some questions for Dan Quinn. He wanted to know more about DQ’s drafting process and how he nurtured the players in the Seahawks. “I think you want to find what does somebody do best and then you start to build around that and then you can start to build some system around that,” said the Commanders’ head coach on the Washington Commanders podcast.

He further added, “So, for instance for you [Fred Smoot], like, if you were excellent playing man to man, that is where we’re going to feature [you] and so how do we feature you doing that over and over again and the more people who can do those things. So, it may have seemed like chaos at Seattle, but It was very disciplined in how we did things very structured and very tough.”

Before Dan Quinn answered the question, Fred Smoot brought up how despite being late round picks, Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, Brandon Browner and Earl Thomas did some exceptional things for Dan Quinn and Seattle Seahawks‘ Legion of Boom and won the Super Bowl XLVIII against the Broncos (43-8). The LOB defense had 64 picks from 2011 to 2017, which were the top 3% in the whole NFL during 2018. Things might have changed now.

The Super Bowl XLVIII recorded 84 total tackles, 3 defensive touchdowns and 8 defensive passes. Talk about the defense carrying the game and Russell Wilson’s 206-yards and 2 TD performance. So, you get the idea of what Dan Quinn did for the Seahawks between 2013-2014 as a DC. He’s in a similar position now with a couple of late round picks and might create something on par with the Legion of Boom. So where does this leave Jayden Daniels?

Jayden Daniels might feel relieved after getting Dan Quinn as a head coach

Quinn is a defensive mastermind. There’s no contesting that fact. But where does his defensive prowess leave Jayden Daniels? Well, the answer is obvious. If the defense does their job efficiently, then Daniels does not have to worry about outscoring the opponents and he might even lead his team from the get-go. There’s also one more thing about Daniels that needs to be addressed, his run game.

The Heisman Trophy winner led the NCAA in rushing yards in his last season at LSU. That means Daniels is a dual threat quarterback just like Lamar Jackson. From Dan Quinn’s words, it feels like he’s going to allow Daniels to continue being a dual threat QB. Daniels will be expected to do what he’s been doing in college all along.

The only problem is that the NFL is an unforgiving league, and the risk of injuries is just too high. To aid Daniels’ run game, the Washington Commanders have hired veteran RB Austin Ekeler who is also acting like a mentor to Daniels. But it’s his rookie year as an NFL quarterback and Quinn understands that. He’s not pressuring Jayden Daniels to be extraordinary from the start.

It’s not a secret, but it is a journey and a process. As we’re going — when he’s ready, we’ll know. When he’s ready, he’ll also know,” Quinn said in a presser after the training camp. Good things take time to come to fruition, and we hope Jayden Daniels would become the epitome of this definition.