Commanders’ Jayden Daniels Joins RGIII in Rare NFL Rookie QB History
For decades, most young signal-callers have been asked to learn quietly, watch from the sideline, and wait their turn. Last season, Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels didn’t.
Instead, he rewrote what we think a highly-touted college prospect can be. Daniels was recently named to The Athletic’s list of the best 25 rookie quarterback seasons of the past 25 years.
“A few first-year quarterbacks have thrown for more yards and touchdowns or had better EPA numbers,” Nick Baumgardner wrote. “But no one on this list was able to enter a rocky situation and completely change the math overnight the way Daniels did last season in Washington — he nearly became the first rookie QB to start a Super Bowl.
One of the league’s brightest young stars, Daniels set NFL rookie QB records for rushing yards, fourth-quarter/overtime TDs and overall completion percentage.”
In 2012, it was Robert Griffin III, who electrified D.C. with his dual-threat brilliance and instantly became one of the most exciting rookies the league had ever seen. A dozen years later, history has repeated itself. Daniels, the team’s 2024 first-round pick, didn’t just survive his rookie season — he thrived, and in doing so, joined RGIII in a rarefied corner of NFL history.
Daniels’ Record-Setting Commanders Rookie Year
The numbers alone would be enough to earn Daniels a place in the NFL record books. He completed 331-of-480 passes for 3,568 yards, 25 touchdowns and just nine interceptions — a 69 percent completion rate that set a new benchmark. On the ground, he added 891 rushing yards and six touchdowns, displaying the same kind of fearless running ability that once made Griffin a sensation.
The Commanders went 12-5 and reached the NFC Championship Game, their first appearance in more than three decades. No rookie quarterback had ever carried Washington that far, and Daniels nearly became the first rookie in NFL history to start a Super Bowl.
For context: C.J. Stroud may have had gaudier passing totals with Houston in 2023, and Dak Prescott’s rookie efficiency in 2016 remains a model of precision. But Daniels’ impact went beyond the stat sheet. He inherited a franchise in flux, playing under a first-year head coach in Dan Quinn and a new offensive system led by Kliff Kingsbury.
Instead of being swallowed by the chaos, he transformed it, giving the Commanders an identity — and belief — almost overnight.
The Bigger Picture in 2025
Daniels’ rookie campaign will be remembered not just for its records, but for the way it shifted Washington’s trajectory. Just as Griffin once did, he gave the franchise credibility and urgency, the sense that the future had arrived.
The difference? Washington is determined to protect Daniels from the pitfalls that ended Griffin’s meteoric rise too soon. A new regime, a fortified offensive line, and a deliberate approach to roster-building suggest that this time, the Commanders are playing the long game.
That’s why Daniels’ placement at the top of any rookie QB ranking isn’t just a reflection of what he did last year. It’s a marker of where he — and Washington — could be headed.
Because if his rookie season was only the beginning, the Commanders may have finally found the quarterback who can take them where RGIII could not — all the way back to the Super Bowl.
