Final Thoughts | Jayden Daniels’ work ethic gives him confidence

Jayden Daniels “works his ass off.”

The Commanders already knew what Daniels could do, but now the rest of the league has taken notice of the rookie quarterback over the last month. Most people who follow the commanders know the statistics by now; He has more scoring opportunities than incompletions, and his 82.1 completion percentage through four games is the best in NFL history.

Here’s the not-so-secret ingredient to this production, according to Quinn: “He absolutely works his ass off.”

“There is no magic at play here,” Quinn said.

Quinn praised Daniels for how much time he spends preparing for each game. There were many nights when he would watch Daniels in the quarterback room with his teammates and coaches, going over plays and concepts multiple times to make sure he had a firm grasp of them before kickoff. As good as Daniels was, he also had several people supporting him in his first season.

This extra time has allowed Daniels to figure out how to best utilize his teammates by highlighting what they do well. That’s why players like Zaccheaus led the team with 85 receiving yards on Sunday and why the connection between Daniels and McLaurin has improved over the last two weeks.

Like most people, Quinn couldn’t have imagined Daniels would be off to such a good start, but he knows the rookie deserves it.

“When you’re around him, you feel that work ethic,” Quinn said. “There is no magic fairy dust that we throw into it. It’s absolutely grueling, it works, and a lot of confidence comes from that.”