Top‑10 Reset: Jayden Daniels Poised to Break the NFL’s Elite – Commanders’ QB Reboot!

Washington Commanders fans likely can't envision a world today where Jayden Daniels isn't quarterbacking their favorite team.

However, with the Commanders picking 29th in a recent exercise tackled by NFL.com's Chad Reuter, Daniels is unavailable when the team takes Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in the 'win-now mock draft' that puts all NFL players into a draft pool for each team to select from.

Instead of sticking with Washington, Daniels ends up coming off the board in the top 10, to the New York Jets.

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5). / Lucas Boland-Imagn Images

"The Jets take Daniels with the hope he can build on the explosive talent he showed as the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2024," Reuter says.

Of course, the evaluation here isn't Daniels going to the Jets, but rather being the seventh player taken off the board, and therefore the seventh-best player in the NFL today when looking at building a roster that can win immediately.

It comes as no surprise that Daniels is the youngest player taken when he comes off the board, having put together arguably the greatest rookie campaign of any NFL athlete in the history of the league in 2024.

He is, however, the seventh quarterback taken, as you'd expect an early run on the game's most important position in a draft like this one. In fact, the first 13 picks are quarterbacks, and we don't go to another position group until the Indianapolis Colts take Cleveland Browns edge Myles Garrett.

One spot ahead of Daniels is Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts who is coming off a Super Bowl MVP performance, but we'd argue was not as responsible for his team's success nearly as much as the Commanders' star was last season.

Similarly, Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert came off the board fourth to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and we'd have a pretty strong case to make about Daniels deserving to be regarded above him as well.

It is a fun precursor to the NFL Top 100 reveal where we expect Daniels to be ranked pretty highly in his first appearance on the player-voted list, and will likely have to wait until at least late August to learn where he's landed.