Solution for Dan Quinn’s QB Woes Compared to Patrick Mahomes as Anonymous Coach Lauds Jayden Daniels Amid Commanders’ Draft Conundrum

The Washington Commanders‘ new head coach has some big responsibilities on his shoulders this year. With the No. 2 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, Dan Quinn needs to choose the team’s new quarterback in hopes of a revival in the 2024 season. With this year’s draft QB heavy, the problem is not the lack of options but the opposite.

Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, and J.J. McCarthy are the top projected rookie QB prospects in the upcoming draft lineup. While Williams is expected to be chosen as the top pick by the Chicago Bears, Quinn has to make the tough choice between the others. While the HC recently opened up about what he is looking for in the prospective pick, a recent comparison of Daniels with the Chiefs’ three-time MVP might help solve the confusion.

Jayden Daniels compared to Patrick Mahomes by coach

The Heisman Trophy winner is the most speculated future pick for the Commanders; however, there has been no confirmation from the team yet. The recent analysis of the LSU quarterback might further tilt the scales in his favor. Recently, The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman had some interesting insights from a source who assessed Daniels up close.

An anonymous coach who had also coached players against Kansas City’s star QB, Patrick Mahomes, made a bold comparison. He said that apart from the back-to-back Super Bowl MVP, the coach hadn’t seen a quarterback who was harder to defend against than Daniels. “Outside of Patrick Mahomes, I haven’t coached against someone like this. He’s just very hard to defend,” said the coach as per the Athletic.

In light of the Mahomes comparison, it is interesting to note that the new offensive coordinator of Washington is someone who helped groom Mahomes into the QB he is today. OC Kliff Kingsbury is the former head coach of Texas Tech, the Chiefs star’s alma mater. While it is an intriguing advantage for the Commanders to have someone with such experience groom Daniels in a similar mold, let us first analyze what aspects validate the LSU senior’s comparison with Mahomes.

What qualities of Daniels remind the coach of Mahomes?

The anonymous source quoted the 23-year-old’s “throws,” “timing,” and “accuracy” as his major impressive attributes. He further applauded Daniels’ “above-average arm strength,”  which overrode expectations. Finally, the coach talked about his speed, which makes him the perfect QB prospect for Quinn.

“We tried to force him to run it to take it out of his hands. The throws he makes and the timing he has, I thought was second to none. He throws the deep ball extremely accurately. He improved a lot. He’s a really good deep ball thrower with more than above-average arm strength. Those 15-, 20-yard touch throws were better than I thought. He didn’t look like he was that fast, but he just glides and runs by people, and he outruns their angles,” said the source.

Jayden Daniels has 953 completions, 12,749 passing yards, and 89 touchdowns in the five years of his college career, which warrant his position in the top five positions in the NFL Draft. Scheduled to start on April 25th, all speculations and conjectures will be laid to rest soon. Dan Quinn’s crew will try their best to utilize their picks fully and upgrade their roster for the 2024 season.

Read This: Dan Quinn Delves Into QB Evaluation Process Amid Rumors of Commanders’ Interest in J.J. McCarthy & Jayden Daniels at 2