Washington Commanders star quarterback Jayden Daniels‘ recent rank in The Athletic’s quarterback tiers and his rank in an ESPN poll show the league thinks Daniels has already reached superstardom.
The Athletic released their annual quarterback tiers, where the starting quarterbacks in the NFL are grouped into four tiers based on votes from NFL coaches, executives, and general managers. Daniels came in as a tier-two quarterback, nearly missing out on the tier-one quarterbacks. The tier-one quarterbacks were the usual suspects in Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Matthew Stafford, with Daniels being the next quarterback listed.
Six GMs, six assistant GMs, six former GMs, five other execs, eight head coaches and 19 other coaches, including 15 coordinators, comprise @SandoNFL‘s 50-person panel.
The goal was simple: Tier every veteran QB in the NFL.
Did they get it right? pic.twitter.com/4UyajtKvfs
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) August 11, 2025
Jayden Daniels is One of the Best Quarterbacks in the NFL
As a rookie, Daniels led five fourth-quarter comebacks and finished with 3,568 yards, 25 touchdowns, and nine interceptions, and added 891 yards and six touchdowns. Simply put, he was electric for Washington.
Daniels received 31 votes for the second-tier and 17 for tier-one, a record for a rookie quarterback coming off his first season. Most of the coaches’ and execs’ opinions on him about his ranking seem to be that they think he will ascend into the first tier sooner rather than later.
“He is a 2 with an arrow up,” a defensive coordinator said about Daniels in the quarterback tiers list. “He can run, he can throw with accuracy, and he is really calm. The s— isn’t too big for him, and it’s easy to see when you are playing him. He doesn’t get flustered.”
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler released his annual top-ten positions list that was also voted on by various NFL coaches, executives, and general managers, and Daniels came in at fifth on the quarterbacks list. In that ranking, an offensive coordinator raved about him revitalizing one of the “worst franchises” in the Washington Commanders, his clutch factor, and dual-threat ability.
“Single-handedly took one of the worst franchises to the NFC title game as a rookie with a bad defense, one legitimate receiver, and a dinosaur at tight end,” an offensive coordinator told Fowler about Daniels. “The kid can read coverages throw with accuracy and touch to all levels of the field.”
It’s clear after one season that Daniels has made his presence known. The NFL has also taken to Daniels’ superstar quality, scheduling the team for five primetime games. It’s surprising for the Daniels to have so few skeptics after only one season, especially after how C.J. Stroud‘s sophomore season went last year, after having a hot rookie season the year before.
Could Daniels push himself into Jackson, Mahomes, and Allen territory?  It’s possible. Daniels will be a preseason MVP pick favorite, like Stroud was last offseason, and the Commanders will be a preseason favorite pick for the Super Bowl, much like the Houston Texans were last season.
What will certainly benefit Daniels this season is the fact that he gets another year to build with offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, who had been getting head coach interviews after his impressive season with Daniels but ultimately decided to return to Washington. Washington has also added Pro Bowl players such as Deebo Samuel and Laremy Tunsil via trade.
Even if Daniels’ play remains the same from last season and he doesn’t quite take a step, that would still be enough to solidify him as a top-six quarterback, which was evident in the offseason polls.
Main Image: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
