Scott Pioli was one of the first guests Grant & Danny had on after the Commanders drafted Jayden Daniels, and Pioli did nothing but gush about how much of a ‘special’ player Daniels was at LSU.
Suffice to say that when he joined G&D Wednesday, Pioli’s opinion of Jayden had only grown bigger.
“I was so fortunate that Brian Kelly would let me spend time with certain players, and I remember the day I first met Jayden, trying to figure him out in terms of the way he carried himself – the energy that appeared and the energy he had internally didn’t look the same,” Pioli said. “I’m so happy for him and for DQ; what you guys are getting as a player is right on what I hoped and thought it was gonna be. He’s just an amazing young man, and he’s the same dude all the time, every day.”
We saw that ice grill on Sunday night, and that’s one of the many attributes that makes Daniels special – so many it was hard for Pioli to pick a one-seed of the most important.
“It’s dangerous to ever put things as the top thing, but I think one of the many things it starts with is that he's the same guy every day. It's consistency, and that's what people want out of leaders,” Pioli said. “In order to sustain true and genuine leadership and followership, you want to know what to expect. You understand that things may get different, but what his teammates don't need is that dude to change, right? The circumstances, the situations, those things are gonna change, but if you're getting the same thing, at least you know that there's real authenticity there. But, another thing you can’t overlook is that he's both smart and thoughtful – a lot of people are one or the other but not both, but he’s got a really nice combination of both of those things – and he also has this internal energy and passion and commitment that you really can't coach. It’s a rare work ethic.”
Sort of a Dwight Schrute from The Office ‘using five words for three words to describe himself’ there from Pioli, but the consensus from almost everyone who talks about Jayden is that the best way to describe him is that he just has ‘it.’
And ‘it’ has fit in perfectly with the Commanders’ culture that has done a 180 under Dan Quinn, Adam Peters, and owner Josh Harris, and has the team believing they can beat anyone at any time, and is set up for success long-term even if there are some hiccups along the way.
“Our first Super Bowl season (in New England), we were coming off a 5-11 year and signed 23 free agents, none who were household guys, but there was a quiet confidence,” Pioli said. “When I was with DQ in Atlanta, he has this ability to get players focused ignore the outside stuff as best they can. Watching this team reminds me – and I want to manage expectations here because I don't expect them to win the Super Bowl, and that's not a knock at him at all – that the tough part comes when you’re good and you know it, and you’re playing collectively better than what the parts are, which is what I think the Commanders are doing right now, and other peoples’ expectations become unrealistic. It’s never going to be a straight line, so understand that this year, as magnificent as this season is, it’s still just the beginning of the process for the Washington Commanders. You have to build this infrastructure, because it’s about the right 53 – individuals go to Pro Bowls, but teams win championships. Dan Quinn believes that, and Adam Peters learned from us in New England that talent is important, but player development is not just on the field.”