One of the reasons the Commanders selected Jayden Daniels second in this year’s draft is his ability to make big plays as both a runner and a passer, although the Commanders would like to see more of the latter in the coming weeks.
Daniels ran 16 times for 88 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday’s 37-20 loss to the Buccaneers, but the positives were marred by some hard hits. Daniels, who was also sacked twice and had his third negated by a Bucs penalty, lost his helmet on some of those shots and the Commanders want him to be exposed to fewer of those in the future.
Quinn said at a press conference Monday that “not all of these are planned as quarterback runs” and that there are some situations where Daniels realizes he needs to throw the ball instead of trying to gain all the yards himself.
“We would like to see him remain a passerby “at first,” Quinn said. “I think that will come with more experience, honestly. If I can extend the ball and throw it when I say, ‘Hey, the game’s over, then I’ll get rid of it and move on to the next play.’ So I think you’ll see that evolution continue. Certainly, (16) runs is not the model we’re looking for, certainly not with Brian (Robinson) and Austin (Ekeler) and others here. But in the end, I think we’ll continue to grow at this point. But certainly not to the point where we want to have that many.”
Terry McLaurin had just two catches against Tampa, and finding a way to expand the rookie’s connection to the No. 1 wide receiver would be a good way to reduce Daniels’ need to get going and run in Week 2 against the Giants.
