Once upon a time, Alex Smith was the starting signal-caller in DC, and right now, he’s pumped up about the guy who holds that job currently.
“You’re talking to a guy that threw one touchdown and 11 picks his rookie year, which was a disaster of a season, but what Jayden is doing, honestly, is unprecedented, and that's saying something, especially after the rookie season that CJ Stroud had last year,” Smith told Grant & Danny Thursday. “That was arguably the greatest rookie season at quarterback for a top pick and Jayden is one upping that. It’s just remarkable.”
Smith cited some stats – Top 5 in every passing category, three turnovers in nine games, tops in per-drive efficiency – just to show how good Jayden has been, and yeah, ‘I don’t know what’s not to like’ was his synopsis.
“They've struggled in the red zone, so that’s maybe one thing to fix, but they’re still the most efficient offense, so what’s not to like?” Smith asked. “He’s been so composed, he's so accurate throwing the ball downfield, and when he wants to use his legs, he's as good as there is. I don’t know what that’s like to be playing like that as a rookie – I don’t think anybody does, because he’s in kind of his own territory – but obviously really happy for the organization and the city. It’s been a long time to be this excited, and it's deserved.”
Of all the stats, perhaps it’s the turnover margin that is most impressive.
“It speaks to his maturity and how ready he was for this, and his entire journey leading up to this season – think of how many players and teams we’ve had since 1933,” Frerotte said. “It’s something you never see, and it’s even little things putting the ball on the ground – QB/center exchange, ball-handling with running backs, like stuff just happens, right? It takes a while usually to acclimate to a pro offense and pro speed, and that just hasn't been the case with Jayden; he really just hit the ground running. I shouldn’t have been playing my rookie year, and I’m a big advocate of letting these guys sit and develop, but Jayden has shown that he's been more than ready for this.”
Listen to Smith’s entire segment above, where he discusses why he’s excited for Commanders-Steelers, his thoughts on the Quinn/Peters rebuild, Kliff Kingsbury's offense, and more!