Jay Gruden thinks it's official: Jayden Daniels and the Commanders are legitimately good
It's only four games, so small sample size, but Jayden Daniels is the most accurate quarterback in NFL history through his first four starts and the Commanders are 3-1…and Jay Gruden thinks it's official: the kid is good.
"I think you can write it in Sharpie; he's been pretty impressive. He sees the field well, he escapes, he can run, he can throw, he does it all, and he has great poise, too, which is what I like the best about him," Gruden said. "He doesn't get rattled. Sometimes you can see quarterbacks' eyeballs through their face masks, they're so big and scared, but this guy is a surgeon back there. He's got confidence and plays with a lot of poise, and he's accurate and fun to watch, man."
Daniels' response after his first career interception Sunday showed Gruden what he needed to see on that point, but a lot of credit also goes to Kliff Kingsbury, who has developed an offense around Jayden that he's working very well within, with more scoring drives (24) than Daniels incompletions (19).
"How you respond is most important – and they don't blink and stick with the plan," Gruden said. "I think Kliff has done a great job of not forcing the too many throws down their throats. They still mix it up with the runs and some of the designed quarterback runs, and then obviously the quick game and some play passes, and he's keeping the defense on their heels. He gets a great game plan together and uses a lot of different concepts to keep defenses off-balance, and the offense has done a great job of staying in positive down and distance and staying ahead of the chains. When a play-caller has every play at his disposal on a drive, it's fun to call plays."
The offensive line, of course, has been huge, and Gruden thinks having a physical presence at tight end is making a huge difference in the run game – and that's also showing up in a lot of the shorter high-percentage throws and screens the Commanders use frequently.
"They do have a lot of bubble screens built into the running game, which are easy completions, and Jayden's gonna get seven or eight of those a game and he's gonna be 8-for-8 – then the rest of them, he's gonna have to make good decisions with the football," Gruden said. "Kliff did try to get after Arizona's defense with some deep throws, and Jayden did some good things with making the right decision – the only ball he tried to force was the interception to Terry, and it wasn't a terrible throw, he just sailed it a little bit. So his decision making has been on point, he's keeping the chains moving and Kliff's calling him a good game, and it's a good combination to have."
Take a listen to Gruden's entire visit above, which goes around the league and looks at the Commanders' wideouts, what's effective with the running game, and more!
