Through the first year of their NFL careers, here is what we know about the six quarterbacks taken inside of the top 12 in the 2024 NFL Draft. Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix had immensely successful rookie seasons. It was a baptism by fire for Caleb Williams and Drake Maye. While Michael Penix Jr. showed signs of promise in his three starts late in the year, J.J. McCarthy has yet to play in any game.
So what can we derive from this? Not all of these first-round quarterbacks are going to end up being stars in the league. Daniels, and to some degree Nix, already are. The ideas of the other four are still very much up in the air. It is why Washington Commanders fans should be overly ecstatic every day that Daniels fell to them at No. 2 instead of going to the Chicago Bears No. 1 overall like Williams did.
In a recent article for ESPN, the topic of Williams' willingness of going to Chicago was brought up once again. He and his father Carl's quotes about not wanting to go to Chicago reared their ugly heads again in conversations with author Seth Wickersham. Williams may be more talented than Daniels, but I will take the Commanders quarterback's head on his shoulders every day over Williams'.
It is reported that Williams preferred to go to the Minnesota Vikings, but accepted his Chicago fate.
Where you land matters, but one player can often change the entire trajectory of an NFL franchise.
Washington Commanders fans should love they have Jayden Daniels
Admittedly, we do not need to get too ahead of ourselves here. There was a point in time where Robert Griffin III could do no wrong in the nation's capital. That ended up being short-lived, and the ensuing Kirk Cousins era was not appreciated as much as it should have. Regardless, Daniels had his team one win away from playing in a Super Bowl. Williams led his team to last-place finish in-division.
I just had a feeling that whoever the Commanders decided on at quarterback, whether that be Daniels, Drake Maye or even Williams if he fell to them, would become a star. It is amazing what good ownership can do to an organization. Out went Daniel Snyder and in came Josh Harris. He hired Adam Peters, who in turn helped bring Dan Quinn into the building, with Kliff Kingsbury calling the offense.
Not to say Washington is A-plus in all four of the game's most important categories, but I would argue for high marks in ownership, general manager, head coach and quarterback. Chicago could get there, but there will always be limitations with The McCaskeys owning the team. Ben Johnson may be a revelation at head coach, but he is unproven. Ryan Poles is one more bad year away from being axed.
You want people who want to be where their feet are, as Daniels seems right at home in Washington.