Building on a 12-5 season (14 – 6 counting their playoff run), Jayden Daniels has already proven his first-round hype. He’s also flirted with the fringes of being called an MVP. But for the Washington Commanders QB, he’s not happy with just getting called the Offensive Rookie of the Year. There was work to be done this offseason, and not just with his teammates. With the singular goal of making major improvements, that’s exactly what he doubled down on.
Daniels is coming off a 3,568 season with 25 touchdowns. And that’s just his regular-season numbers. There’s the added perk of Deebo Samuel now boosting the Commanders’ roster with promise. As Daniels himself noted at the Fanatics Fest, “I’m excited to throw him a little screen and hopefully on the stat sheet it says a touchdown for 80 yards and I didn’t have to do any of the work.” But if his offseason moves have been any indication, the rising star QB isn’t letting his receivers take all the glory.
As the last season ended, Jayden Daniels went back home. But it wasn’t a vacation to enjoy his downtime. While the rest of the league was busy planning getaways, Daniels was grinding it out. As Daniels went home, the first chess move came when the coaching staff connected with Taylor Kelly, his old coach back in Orange County. As Albert Breer reported, “The goal was to establish, first and foremost, a commonality in language. In other words, Washington wanted Kelly to dovetail the way he talks with how [OC Kliff] Kingsbury talks, so as they worked through Daniels’ rookie year an fundamental work, Kelly would be able to talk to Daniels on his level, and Daniels would eventually be able to take his work back to D.C. with him without a hitch.” But it’s not just the language that Daniels is working on.
According to @AlbertBreer of the @theMMQB @Commanders QB Jayden Daniels led offseason throwing session before OTA’s began back in early spring
He plans on hosting another out in SoCal ahead of training camp
Comment below ,do you think Terry McLaurin will participate? pic.twitter.com/oF7LzmphX4
— Lynnell Willingham (@Nell_BTP) June 23, 2025
After a whopping 47 sacks last season, Daniels asked him a question: “Can I add some more armor on to sustain 17 games, and hopefully more?” To answer this, he’s even built up a little more muscle as we’ve seen through the offseason training programs. But that’s not all. Breer further added that Daniels worked on “Refining his lower body movement on certain throws – Working on some specifics on throws to Daniels’ left, and his arm angle on those throws, was another.” This will certainly help reduce the number of picks (he got 9 Ints last season). And even before the offseason training kicked off, Daniels had reportedly met up with his teammates in Oregon to work on their passing game. He’s even planning another similar session before the roster hits the training camps, coming around fast.
For all intents and purposes, Jayden Daniels seems primed to explode in his second year. With his drive, he might even be able to turn that 2-1 playoff record upside down this year. While that is certainly cause for optimism, not everything is peachy in Washington. With Terry McLaurin’s holdout going strong, Daniels faces the offseason without his star wide receiver.
The Terry McLaurin question mark in D.C.
If there’s one thing this offseason has shown us, it’s that players nearing or on the wrong side of 30 have it tough. But for a guy posting 5 straight seasons of 1000+ yards without major injuries, would a bigger payout really be out of the question? That’s the dilemma plaguing WR Terry McLaurin. As he sat out the mandatory minicamps, his contract came into focus. With one year left on his three-year deal of around $68 mils, McLaurin wants a new contract. And the number he wants on the new deal is similar to guys balling out at the top of their game.
Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin (17) is tackled by Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell (46) in the fourth quarter, during the NFL game at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025.
For some time, the word was that he could get a deal that gets him over $30 million a year. Climbing close to ballers like DK Metcalf and CeeDee Lamb. But as Commanders insider Lake Lewis recently pointed out, the number for McLaurin could go somewhere around $36 – $37 million. Coming a little shy of Ja’Marr Chase holding the crown with his $40 million a year deal. But the front office and McLaurin have yet to pan out a deal. And now, there’s also trade talks in the air. But despite the holdout, HC Dan Quinn remains positive, and even Daniels is firmly in McLaurin’s corner.
“Me and Terry have a good relationship outside of football. Obviously, he has to handle what he has to handle but that doesn’t change anything, the fact that he is part of our brotherhood. We know Terry is working and everything. We have to get better and he knows he has to get better each and every day.” These words from Jayden Daniels certainly go a long way to boost confidence in McLaurin. But will the holdouts continue when the critical training camps come around? If a deal doesn’t come through by then, it’ll just be a few more weeks till we find out.
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