The expectations around the Washington Commanders this season are very big. The reason because of that is because they found an absolute gem in Jayden Daniels. Once you get your quarterback, all goals rise. Dan Quinn, the team’s head coach, just praised one key factor of his signal-caller.

“You guys have been around him enough to know that he has a rare focus about him and the best players I’ve been around have had that through my years,” Quinn said about Daniels in his Wednesday press conference.

Quinn also praised Daniels‘ dedication to his craft. “I think he sees it more as an opportunity to say, ‘Alright, I’m going to go do this. I’m going to go find ways to improve and get better.’ Quinn then added, “And so, that’s what I see throughout the offseason with him, coming into training camp but he just keeps this focus about him that is really rare, and the best of the best have that.“

Daniels’ numbers were impressive in his rookie year

We’ve had a lot of great rookie seasons by quarterbacks in the last few years. Baker Mayfield, Justin Herbert and C.J. Stroud for example. However, Daniels might have done better than all of them.

Jayden Daniels, quarterback of the Washington Commanders

First and foremost, he went all the way to a Conference Final, but his numbers alone are incredible. He completed 69% of his passes, racked up 3568 yards and 25 touchdowns to only nine interceptions. He also ran for 891 yards and scored six touchdowns. It was a historic season that earned him the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

The NFC is a tough conference

Washington is not only trying to replicate what it did last year, but also go even further, which would mean playing the Super Bowl. However, it is a tough mission to have. In the end, there are plenty of teams ready to challenge the Commanders.

Within their same division, the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, are ready to go back to back. Then, teams like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Los Angeles Rams are ready to make a deep playoff push as well. Lastly, pretty much the four teams in the NFC North (Vikings, Packers, Lions and Bears) should have successful seasons.