Amazing example of Jayden Daniels' evolving leadership
Daniels preferred to let his play do the talking. He deferred to Commanders' veterans like Bobby Wagner, Terry McLaurin and Zach Ertz, while quietly going about his business, building relationships with every single player and coach on the roster. By the middle of the season, whether he realized it or not, the rookie sensation was already one of Washington's leaders.
Daniels continues to say all of the right things because that's who he is. However, entering his second NFL season, and becoming more comfortable with Kliff Kingsbury's offense and his teammates, Daniels has taken a more active role as a leader. Veteran running back Austin Ekeler recently revealed that Daniels kicked an unknown player out of the huddle in training camp due to a false start.
"He said, 'Get out, we can't be doing that,'" Ekeler said, via John Keim of ESPN. "That's leadership we wouldn't have seen last year. He's holding the standard, letting everyone know this is how we play. If you're not playing at this level, you can't be on the field. That's awesome to see in a quarterback."
Daniels met with the media on Thursday and discussed his ever-evolving leadership.
"I think it's a standard that we set on the offensive side, and I'm the one who's got to uphold the standard," Daniels said. "That's if guys are false starting, the next guy up, stuff like that. Even for me, it's like holding myself accountable. If I mess up or look to [TE] Zach [Ertz], I'll look to guys like that to hold me accountable too. That's just holding leadership-wise, not letting nobody fall underneath the standard.'
That's music to the ears of Kingsbury and head coach Dan Quinn. This is the type of ownership they want to see from Daniels, and to be doing it ahead of his second season is remarkable.
Kicking a player out of the huddle may sound extreme to the casual fan. But it's the type of leadership we've always seen from the best quarterbacks, such as Tom Brady, Dan Marino, Peyton Manning and so many others. The best part: the player kicked out of the huddle and the rest of the team respect Daniels enough to get it right the next time.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders QB Jayden Daniels holds teammates accountable
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


USA Today
a minute ago
- USA Today
The Browns finally signed a Pro Bowl QB (it's Tyler Huntley)
The Cleveland Browns have long been a carnival of sadness. In 2025, they've committed to installing new rides. A franchise with an unparalleled history of rotating through quarterbacks is diving deeper into its own lore. Deshaun Watson, accused of more than 20 counts of sexual misconduct and what the NFL itself described as "predatory behavior" dating back to his time as a Houston Texan, tore his Achilles last season and aggravated that injury during the rehab process. That stands to rob the Browns of the league's 48th-best passer -- a player for whom Cleveland traded three first round draft picks (and more!) before giving a fully guaranteed $230 million contract extension. General manager Andrew Berry and team owner Jimmy Haslam took a shotgun approach to replacing him. Former backups Jameis Winston, Bailey Zappe and Dorian Thompson-Robinson were swept out the door. In their place came a similar mix of mercurial veteran savvy and young quarterbacks who might kinda/sorta be good even though the rest of the league doesn't quite believe it. Kenny Pickett expanded his high-level football career to a second state, swapping Pennsylvania for Ohio. Dillon Gabriel was drafted in the third round. Two rounds later, Shedeur Sanders entered the mix -- a move Haslam has already publicly washed his hands of. This four-headed quarterback battle has managed to underwhelm early in the preseason. Pickett suffered a hamstring injury. Both rookies have missed practices due to minor maladies. Somehow, the healthiest man in the quarterback room was 40 years old. But never fear. Cleveland finally added a feted veteran to its active quarterback competition. A player who did what Flacco has never done in his 17-year NFL career -- make the Pro Bowl. That man? Fellow former Baltimore Raven Tyler Huntley. Huntley has started 14 games in five NFL seasons and won five. He was a 2022 Pro Bowler despite making only four starts and throwing more interceptions (three) than touchdowns (two). He's a shifty dual threat quarterback who made sense as Lamar Jackson's understudy but is less of a stylistic match with Flacco, who ran for two total yards in five regular season games in his last stint with the Browns. Huntley is a mess under pressure. He completed just 40 percent of his passes last season with static in the pocket. He had Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle in his lineup last season and completed only one of 10 deep passes. He went unsigned through the bulk of the season for good reason. And he still has a modest chance to win the Browns' starting quarterback competition this preseason.


USA Today
a minute ago
- USA Today
Aaron Donald takes 4 of the top-10 best DT seasons since 2019
It's hard to pick another defensive tackle better than Los Angeles Rams legend Aaron Donald. The Rams' star made the Pro Bowl all 10 years he played in the NFL, as well as eight first-team All-Pro teams and three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards. He was a top-5 vote-getter for DPOY four other teams, too. So, it's not terribly surprising that some of Donald's seasons rank among the best by a defensive tackle over the past six seasons. But, according to Pro Football Network, Donald's four best seasons took the top-four spots in their top-10 rankings since 2019. These were ranked on PFN's DT+ metric. Here's how the seasons broke down for Donald: Now, it should be noted that Donald's 2018 season, when he led the NFL with 20.5 sacks, wasn't included because it predated the 2019 cut-off. But the rest of these seasons make sense. Donald tallied 12.5 sacks in 2021 with 19 tackles for a loss, 25 quarterback hits and four forced fumbles in the Rams' Super Bowl-winning year. He also came in third for DPOY. In 2019, Donald led the NFL with 20 tackles for a loss to go with his 12.5 sacks and 24 quarterback hits. He finished fifth in DPOY. Oddly enough, Donald's best statistical season and third DPOY award ranked third on this list. He tallied 13.5 sacks — his second most in a season after his 2018 year — with 14 tackles for a loss, 28 quarterback hits and a NFL-leading approximate value (via Pro Football Reference) of 23. Donald's final NFL season in 2023 ranked fourth on the list. He registered eight sacks, 16 tackles for a loss and 23 quarterback hits. While he didn't make the DPOY top-5, he finished ninth in Comeback Player of the Year after he missed six games in 2022. Donald was one of the best defensive players of the past decade and played every year for the Rams. It will be tough for any defensive tackle in the near future to come close to the accomplishments of Donald.


New York Post
a minute ago
- New York Post
Jayden Daniels' mom criticized by ex-ESPNer after Commanders training camp interview
One ex-ESPN sportscaster thinks Jayden Daniels' mom needs to take a step back. 'She needs a hobby,' former 'SportsCenter' and 'Golic and Wingo' co-host host Trey Wingo posted on X Monday after the Commanders quarterback's mother, Regina Jackson, made a cameo in her son's NFL Network interview at training camp Saturday. Jackson is Daniels' money manager, although not his agent, and the two have an extremely close relationship. 'She's a mom first, and she's always going to be there to uplift me but if I'm doing wrong, she's gonna let me know,' Daniels said in the NFL Network interview with Jackson standing behind him. 'Even though I'm 24 years old, I'm still a grown man but I still gotta listen to my mom at some point.' Jackson went on to say: 'I'm very proud of him. The athlete, the man you guys see and you always need your mommas around, so.' When asked if she's at Commanders training camp each day, Jackson said she wasn't, quipping: 'Trust me, they'll tell you when I'm here.' 3 Jayden Daniels' mother, Regina Jackson, with her son in an interview on NFL Network. @nflnetwork/X That exchange was enough to elicit the post from Wingo, which received 29,000 likes but plenty of pushback. 'I promise this is not what you want, Trey,' said one user on X in a response that received 953 likes. 3 Former ESPN co-host Trey Wingo on April 24, 2019. AP 'The sports world heavily documents when young Black athletes become successful and get in trouble & criticize them for extended spans of time,' wrote another. 'But when one has a clear image, great reputation and has a close relationship with a parent, suddenly we don't want that. Odd isn't it?' 'Seems like a mother and her son get along,' posted a third. 'What's wrong with that?' 3 Jayden Daniels at Commanders training camp on July 23. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect Daniels is coming off a tremendous rookie season, in which he earned a Pro Bowl nod and won AP Offensive Rookie of the Year. The LSU product led the Commanders to a 12-5 record and NFC Championship game appearance, passing for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns.