The Washington Commanders entered the 2024 NFL regular season with hopes that their rookie quarterback – the No. 2 overall selection in April’s draft – would live up to the hype in year one.
Jayden Daniels has done that and more.
The rookie has led Washington to a 4-1 start, completing 77.1 percent of his passes for 1,135 yards and four scores while also rushing for 300 yards on 57 carries and four more touchdowns.
His performance is similar to what Cleveland Browns fans had hoped to see out of quarterback Deshaun Watson this season.
Analyst Nick Pedone believes that Daniels is clearly the better quarterback heading into the midway point of the 2024 NFL season.
After watching these players square off last week in Washington’s 34-13 victory, Pedone offered a bold take about Daniels as he compared the quarterback matchup from last week’s contest and declared the rookie signal-caller is the “franchise” athlete (via BIGPLAY Cleveland Show’s X account).
“It was an interesting matchup because Jayden Daniels plays the game very similar to Deshaun Watson, except he’s faster, he’s stronger, he’s more accurate, he’s more likable,” Pedone said, adding, “Jayden Daniels looked like he was the franchise quarterback on Sunday.”
Pedone had an epic rant about Jayden Daniels vs. Deshaun Watson 😂
"He's faster. He's stronger. He's more accurate. He's more likable. His teammates don't hate him."
Full show in @BIGPLAY app: https://t.co/bSie9jqvUn pic.twitter.com/kBkNzKZGfO
— BIGPLAY Cleveland Show (@BIGPLAYCLEshow) October 8, 2024
Pedone’s take is one that Cleveland’s fans would agree with through five games, especially after watching the rookie quarterback dance around Browns defenders throughout the contest.
According to Pedone, the way Daniels played the game was what the Browns had hoped to see out of Watson when they brought him to Cleveland.
“(Daniels is) everything we thought we were getting when they traded three first-round picks plus more, $230 million guaranteed dollars,” Pedone said.
NEXT: Analyst Gives Kevin Stefanski An Interesting Grade For 2024