Caleb Williams vs. Jayden Daniels: Which rookie QB has the edge so far?

There are certain NFL Draft classes that live on due to the strong production of its top players. The 1983 class is often cited as arguably the best in history thanks to its preponderance of excellent quarterbacks, though people forget that for every John Elway, Jim Kelly or Dan Marino, there was also an Eric Dickerson, Bruce Matthews and Darrell Green.

I'm not a "put the cart before the horse" kind of guy, but I do have to say, the 2024 class is feeling special. NFL teams went all-in on offense in the most recent draft, selecting six quarterbacks in the first 12 picks and waiting until the 15th pick to take the first defensive player off the board. The early returns have been extremely promising.

Most players from the '24 class have only played six or seven games, but that small sample size has been enough to show us that there are going to be more than a few superstars from this group. Among the quarterbacks, both Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels have lived up to the hype of going 1-2, while Bo Nix has helped guide the Broncos to a winning record and Drake Maye has flashed serious potential since landing the starting QB job two games ago.

The rest of the draft class is littered with impactful talent too, from Giants receiver Malik Nabers and Raiders tight end Brock Bowers to Rams edge rusher Jared Verse and Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr.

The rookies have been one of the major stories of this young NFL season, but today we'd like to focus on two, because they are (hopefully) set to meet on Sunday in a game that the NFL thought so highly of, it flexed it to the 4:25 p.m. ET slot.

Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels will forever be linked, like so many other 1-2 quarterbacks drafted before them. Jim Plunkett and Archie Manning were an early example, with Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf being one of the more famous instances. Current fans will no doubt remember Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, and Jared Goff and Carson Wentz.

Both Caleb and Jayden have been more than just impressive rookie quarterbacks through the first few games of their careers — they've been beacons of hope for their respective fanbases. Chicago Bears fans have waited their entire lives for a quarterback that could put a team on its back, a reality made all the more painful by the fact that their archnemesis, the Green Bay Packers, have had a nearly unbroken string of Hall-of-Fame-quality quarterback play since Brett Favre joined the team in 1992.

They say it's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved it all. While Bears fans are fawning in wonderment over Caleb's gifts, Washington Commanders fans know all too well what electrifying quarterback play looks like, as they had the thrill of cheering on RGIII before his career was cruelly cut short due to injuries. With Jayden now under center, they've regained that loving feeling.

Regardless of how each team got to this point, they're both thrilled to be able to say with confidence that when it comes to positions of need, for the first time in a long time, quarterback is no longer one of them.

Jayden had to leave last week's win over the Carolina Panthers early with a rib injury, and he didn't practice on Wednesday, which leaves his status in doubt for Sunday's showdown. Obviously the team should do whatever is best for the young man's health, but from a football fan's perspective, it sure would be great to see the first of many battles between two of the NFL's most exciting young talents. Let's all hope that Jayden heals up and is able to give it a go.

Before their potential face-off on Sunday, we thought it would be fun to compare the two QBs. Caleb and Jayden have both been outstanding, but which has been better, and which one projects to have a brighter future? Both first-year players have shown no fear in leading their teams to a combined 9-4 record, so let's dive in headfirst to a comparison that is sure to get fans talking.

Breaking down Caleb Williams vs. Jayden Daniels

Let's start with the stats before getting into the specifics.

On a surface level, Jayden holds the clear edge. He has nearly double the rushing yards per game while throwing for only 18 fewer yards per game than Caleb. He's also gotten sacked less while taking exceptional care of the football. He's been so good that his name is not only at the top of the Offensive Rookie of the Year conversation, it's in the mix for MVP of the entire league too. JJ Watt summed up the argument for Daniels really well on a recent Pat McAfee Show appearance:

Through the first three weeks, it looked like a landslide in Jayden's favor, but Caleb has come on incredibly strong. His last three games, all Bears wins, have been his best three starts of the season, and each one has been better than the last. In total during that stretch, he's thrown for 687 yards and seven touchdowns while only taking seven sacks and turning the ball over once. Compare that to the first three weeks where he threw for 630 yards and two touchdowns while taking 13 sacks and turning it over five times.

The difference has been night and day, and a clear sign of his growth and development., though it does have to be noted that these performances came against the Rams, Panthers and Jaguars, who have three of the very worst defenses in the league. We'll have a much better idea of how Caleb is growing when he faces the Bears' daunting second-half schedule, but for now, he's right where Bears fans prayed he would be.

Caleb and the Bears offensive staff deserve a ton of credit for the recent upswing in his play, but we shouldn't penalize Jayden for being fantastic right out of the gate. He and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury have made beautiful music together, and the league has been almost helpless to stop it. Washington has a superb running game with Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler, but Daniels is the biggest reason why the Commanders are tied with the Ravens for the league lead in points per game with 31.1. He's doing it with his arm and his legs, and the most stunning part has been his accuracy. He currently leads the entire NFL with an otherworldy 75.6 completion percentage.

After a Week 1 loss to the Bucs, the Commanders have put up at least 34 points four times. Jayden was nearly perfect in outdueling Joe Burrow in a wild 38-33 Monday night win in Week 3, finishing 21-23 for 253 yards and three total touchdowns, the last of which was an ice-in-his-veins throw to Terry McLaurin on third down to seal the game. He went toe-to-toe with fellow MVP candidate Lamar Jackson in Week 6, and he no doubt would have hung a huge number on the Panthers if he wasn't injured on an electric 46-yard run in the first quarter.

One factor working in Caleb's favor is that he's taking more responsibility at the line of scrimmage. The Bears have entrusted him to make protection adjustments and audibles, and it's a skill he's getting better at every week. The Bears are also running more of a "pro" offense, for whatever that term is worth these days, while Kingsbury has incorporated most of the same concepts Daniels used at LSU. That's not a dig at Daniels, because he's been amazing! Just an observation that the two quarterbacks are going about their jobs in different ways, and being asked to do different things by their teams.

Daniels was not spotted on the practice field on Thursday, but Adam Schefter reported that the plan is for him to practice Friday and see where he stands. If Daniels can't play on Sunday, it'll fall to Marcus Mariota to keep the Commanders' momentum going. Mariota played good, mistake-free football in leading Washington to an easy win over Carolina, though the Bears defense should present many more problems than the Panthers did. Mariota has faced the Bears twice before, and we went over how he's fared on Tuesday.

The possibility of Mariota playing is the final checkmark in Caleb's favor: durability. Daniels is listed at 6-foot-4, three inches taller than Williams, slightly lighter at 210 pounds compared to Caleb's 215. Watching him play, though, he looks smaller than that, and questions remain about whether he'll be able to handle the inevitable litany of hits he's bound to take, especially for someone who runs so often. Hopefully this rib injury isn't a sign of things to come.

Commanders fans have already been through this scenario with RGIII, though the main culprit in his fall from the ranks of the NFL's elite quarterbacks has to be blamed on mismanagement by the team., who knowingly played him when he wasn't fully healthy. Knowing that, it would be a shock if they let Daniels on the field when he's anything less than 100%.

So who has the edge right now in the battle to be the top rookie quarterback? According to the betting markets, it's extremely close. Jayden raced out to become a big favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year through the first month of the season, and he's done nothing wrong since to fall back, but Caleb's outstanding three-game stretch has pulled him nearly even. According to FanDuel, Jayden is currently a -115 favorite, while Caleb is even money at +100.

That sounds about right as far as who deserves the edge right now. Jayden has been better overall by virtue of his consistent play throughout the year, but Caleb is coming on strong with a great chance to surpass him. As for which quarterback you'd rather have going forward, I'd give an edge to Caleb due to Jayden's durability concerns and the fact that Caleb is running a more complicated offense already, but people had the same concerns about Lamar Jackson that they have now about Jayden, and he has two MVPs and is on track to win a third in just his seventh season.

Commanders fans and Bears fans can agree on one thing — they wouldn't trade their quarterback for the world. Whether Daniels plays this Sunday or not, this is a budding rivalry that we'll be seeing many more times in the years to come.