Commanders QB party didn’t stop Dan Quinn from leaking their preference

The Washington Commanders are hosting four quarterbacks this week — at the same time. Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, J.J. McCarthy, and Michael Penix Jr. will all be on site as the Commanders host 20-odd NFL Draft prospects in GM Adam Peters' quest to observe these prospects in a social, competitive environment.

It's an interesting concept and, in theory, it helps Washington keep its preference under wraps. There's no way to show favoritism to one QB over another if they're all in the building together. That is, unless you send Dan Quinn to the airport to pick up the most widely speculated Commanders prospect, with Peters waiting in the car outside.

This is far from definitive proof that Washington is drafting Jayden Daniels, but coupled with the increasing volume of smoke billowing from that particular chimney, it sure feels like Daniels is going to be a Commander in the near future.

Dan Quinn, Adam Peters allegedly pick up Jayden Daniels from airport prior to Commanders visit

ESPN's Adam Schefter recently said Washington fans can order their Daniels jerseys ahead of time. He has been dropping hints about Daniels for a while, and Schefter is one of the most plugged-in NFL reporters in the business. We cannot discount the magnitude of the J.J. McCarthy buzz, but right now, Daniels is the clear favorite in the rumor mill.

Daniels also makes the most sense in football terms, so this is a natural outcome. New Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury is famed for his work with mobile QBs. He mentored Patrick Mahomes at Texas Tech, Caleb Williams at USC, Kyler Murray in Arizona. Now he's going to lobby for pocket passer Michael Penix? Of course not. He's going to want Daniels, who can most seamlessly fit into his system.

In terms of production, Daniels ran laps around his peers last season, literally and figuratively. He completed 72.2 percent of his passes for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns, and only four interceptions. He added another 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground, regularly extending plays with his legs or toasting the defense out of designed runs.

Washington has not officially reached its pick yet. We don't know with any real certainty. But, again, the tea leaves are easy to read. Caleb Williams to the Chicago Bears at No. 1 is more of a lock, but Daniels not being the Commanders' pick at No. 2 would be genuinely shocking at this point. Maye was the consensus QB2 for most of the season, and McCarthy has made a lot of fans since he began his pre-draft cycle. But, in the end, Daniels to Washington was always the obvious pick. Now, it's almost here.