Jayden Daniels is awesome. Let’s get that out there front and center right away.
The Washington Commanders’ 2024 first-round pick has game-changing rushing ability and is an excellent passer, which would usually give fantasy managers a genuine week-winner every single Sunday.
With that out of the way, I'm selling Daniels in 2025. My problem isn’t with him, though. My problem is what’s around him.
Washington’s signal-caller is coming off a 2025 season in which he played only seven games due to various injuries. In superflex formats, the former LSU product had one top-five weekly finish — QB3 in Week 6 against the Chicago Bears — and four finishes that put him in the range of a QB2.
His 74.8 overall PFF grade ranked 18th out of 43 qualifying quarterbacks, solid even if it was a step down from his 89.6 grade during his 2024 rookie season. As a team, the Commanders recorded a 71.0 team pass-blocking grade, but left tackle Laremy Tunsil was doing a lot of the heavy lifting there, with his elite 88.9 pass-blocking grade ranking second at the position.
However, Tunsil will now miss the entire season with a torn triceps.
Commanders offense in 2026Outside of that, it was a lot of solid but not outstanding. Center Nick Allegretti has missed most of camp with an injury, and if he can’t go in Week 1, the Commanders will be putting their faith in sixth-round draft pick Matt Gulbin. Gulbin earned an 87.8 PFF pass-blocking grade during his final year at Michigan State, but the NFL is a different beast.
If Daniels can’t get the protection he needs to operate a functional passing game, he will have to rely more heavily on his legs. That will expose him to more big hits and increase the risk of yet another injury-shortened season.
Even in an injury-shortened season, Daniels ranked 11th among quarterbacks in rushing attempts (58), but he was also tied for seventh in the league with 39 scrambles — more than 5.5 per game. That may help prop up his rushing production, but it will seriously limit Daniels as a passer if he consistently has to flee the pocket because the offensive line can’t hold up.
The Commanders have tried to beef up Daniels’ passing attack by bringing in former New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills receiver Stefon Diggs. The veteran pass-catcher earned an 87.5 PFF receiving grade in 2025, sixth out of 32 qualifying receivers and just ahead of Terry McLaurin’s 87.0. Diggs was limited to just 59 targets over 10 games, though.
Adding Diggs, hopefully getting a fully healthy McLaurin and drafting Clemson receiver Antonio Williams in the third round should help Daniels and the Commanders field a much more potent passing attack. In 2025, Daniels’ 60.6% completion rate ranked 34th out of 45 qualifying quarterbacks, while his 76.2% adjusted completion rate tied for 15th in the league.
Jayden Daniels' profile in the 2025 NFL QB AnnualDaniels’ 5.0% big-time throw rate was good enough to rank 10th in the NFL. That number is likely skewed somewhat by the small sample size, but even during his rookie season, when he had 605 dropbacks, his 3.9% big-time throw rate ranked 14th in the league.
However, none of that will matter if Daniels can’t be kept clean. Should he suffer through another injury-shortened season or see his production dip, it would represent an all-time low for his value in his relatively short NFL career.
In fantasy drafts, Daniels has a current redraft superflex Sleeper ADP of 19.1 and is going off the board as the QB5. In dynasty formats, that jumps to an ADP of 10.7 and QB4.
The Washington signal-caller is still viewed as a cornerstone of nearly every fantasy team he is drafted onto, regardless of format. But with the Commanders trying to bounce back from a disappointing season behind an offensive line that remains a huge work in progress, it may be wise to get out while Daniels’ value is still sky-high.