Has Jayden Daniels been anointed too quickly? Kevin Sheehan on Commanders QB

Kevin Sheehan, like he does on many occasions, opened Wednsesday morning's show by reading a message from a listener: "Do you think it's really wise to be sold on Jayden Daniels after six games? Six games?? Really??? We are really desperate around here. I hope everyone is right, but in my 50 years of watching the NFL, I've never seen a fanbase fall head over feet faster than this one has for Daniels. Just remember Vince Young, Carson Wentz, Mac Jones and, of course, RGIII."

And this has been a theme for Washington Commanders fans and Sheehan for a while: Is it too soon to start to really believe in the good that Daniels is bringing?

After three games, Sheehan laid out when he would know for sure if Daniels is 'the' guy for Washington and that the new regime of Adam Peters and Dan Quinn and company got it right with the No. 2 pick. Three weeks ago, he said, "We need to see Jayden Daniels and how he handles adversity," adding later he needs to see how the QB reacts to "a bad game, a bad loss, a bad stretch," and then responds to it.

Unfortunately for Sheehan – but also fortunately for Sheehan – in the three games since, the rookie quarterback has not played a bad game, and hardly had a bad stretch within any of those games, including last Sunday's 30-23 defeat in Baltimore.

So, without being able to answer that part of the question on Daniels, Sheehan returns to the listener's question of today: "It is definitely the fastest I can remember, as a long-time football fan, of a quarterback being anointed as quickly as Jayden Daniels has. Honestly, can't think of, other than RGIII, in all of my years of watching football any fanbase [making such an anointing]."

And this is where Sheehan points out that this isn't just a Washington fanbase or local media hype train that is talking about something that can be seen through Burgundy & Gold tinted glasses. The national media, the football film watchers on the internet and fans from across the NFL are all pretty onboard with Daniels looking the part.

"It is everybody that writes about, talks about, blogs about, podcasts about the NFL," Sheehan said. "There is uniform across the board agreement on this one: Washington got it right. And it didn't take six games, it took three. Because the Cincinnatti game, the Monday night game, when it became apparently clear to everybody that Washington had nailed it."

This isn't to say the listener's email is wrong or that everyone can be wrong. So, let's take a look at a comparison – not of hype – but of statistics from some other quarterbacks after their first six games:

We'll start with Daniels: 1,404 yards (234 per game) on 125-for-166 passing (75.3 percent) with six touchdowns and two interceptions a 107.1 passer rating with 322 yards on 63 carries (5.1 yards average) and four touchdowns.

Robert Griffin III (2012 season): 1,343 yards (224 per game) on 113-for-161 passing (70.2 percent) with five TDs and two INTs for a 100.2 rating with 379 yards on 55 carries (6.9 yards) and six TDs

Andrew Luck (also 2012): 1,674 yards (279 per game) on 134-for-250 passing (53.6 percent) with seven TDs and seven INTs for a 72.3 rating with 115 yards on 20 caries (5.8 yards) with three TDs

Carson Wentz (2016): 1,324 yards (221 per game) on 118-for-185 passing (63.8 percent) with eight TDs and 3 INTs for a 92.7 rating with 43 yards on 18 rushes (negligible).

Mac Jones (2021): 1,472 yards (245 per game) on 150-for-211 passing (71.1 percent) with seven TDs and six INTs for an 89.6 rating with 26 yards on 10 carries (negligible).

Vince Young (2006, first six starts in Week 4-9): 840 yards (140 per game) on 72-for-151 passing (47.7 percent), four TDs and seven INTs for a 54.5 rating with 152 rushing on 32 carries (4.8 yards) with three TDs.

And for context, as Sheehan mentioned, here is Dan Marino (1983 first six starts Week 6-11): 1,318 yards (220 per game) on 101-for-181 passing (55.8 percent) with 12 TDs and four INTs for a 91.8 rating (one rushing TD on 28 yards for 21 attempts).

And, as mentioned by producer Denton Day, here is Texans QB CJ Stroud (2023): 1,660 yards (277 per game) on 127-for-213 passing (59.6 percent) with nine TDs and one INT for a 96.4 rating with 55 yards on 18 rushes (negligible).

While the numbers paint that picture, the film tells us that while Daniels' and Griffin's statistics may be close, the passing ability of the Commanders' rookie is more advanced than his predecessor.

All of this is again to say, it is probably too early still – especially without the adversity test for Daniels – but the writing is pretty clearly on the wall that Daniels is having a phenomenal rookie season and is deserving of being anointed.

And one final point: Is this a problem for the Washington fan base? That they are too desperate for a quarterback? Well, they are, Sheehan admits, but, this isn't just a Washington-specific issue.

"To say 'they're serial exaggerators to begin with when it comes to their football team, and they're just doing their thing again with this guy,'" Sheehan said about the criticism of fans in the DMV. "No, this is league-wide. This is the entirety of the league that feels this way. Everybody thinks they got it right."