Jayden Daniels came close to setting up a Super Bowl showdown against Andy Reid‘s Kansas City Chiefs in the 2025 NFL playoffs, but the Philadelphia Eagles stood in the Washington Commanders‘ way.
Still, the LSU product made a great impression in his rookie year. Reid, however, warned Daniels and the Commanders that the upcoming season will put the second-year quarterback to the test.
“The second year is a big challenge,” Reid said, via John Keim of ESPN. “If you can get through your second year, you got a pretty good thing going.“
Daniels’ impressive rookie year in the NFL
Daniels, 24, was named the NFL Rookie of the Year after a sensational start to life in the National Football League. He even got MVP votes, finishing seventh in the voting that crowned Buffalo Bills star Josh Allen.
Reid knows a thing or two about developing young, talented quarterbacks. His most notable experience came in Kansas City, where Patrick Mahomes blossomed into one of the best QBs in NFL history in front of his eyes.
Daniels, who was also named the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2024, posted incredible numbers in his rookie season. Last year, he recorded 3,568 passing yards with 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions. In addition, he racked up 891 rushing yards with six scores.
2025 could be very telling for Daniels, Washington
On top of that, he ended Washington’s years-long playoff drought, helping the franchise win their first playoff game since 2005 before leading the team to its first trip to the NFC title game in 33 years.
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His strong campaign also gives the Commanders reasons for optimism after seeing 35 different starting quarterbacks since 1992. Based on Reid’s comments, we’ll have to wait and see how Daniels responds in 2025 to see if he can ultimately end that trend in the capital city.