Dan Quinn tries to deploy smokescreen over Jayden Daniels' QB1 chances

Buzz surrounding Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels has been consistently positive throughout the offseason. Nonetheless, head coach Dan Quinn did his best to pump the brakes on this year's No. 2 overall pick during his media availability on Thursday.

During a press conference, Quinn said he is not ready to name Daniels (or anybody) the starting signal-caller yet. Despite receiving endless praise from teammates and coaches alike, the former is still not sold on the latter being ready.

Quinn told reporters he hasn't decided who will line up under center for the Commanders come Week 1. However, he also emphasized the "unbelievable progress" Daniels has made since joining the team. Moreover, he noted that the former LSU Tiger took most of Washington's first-team reps during mandatory minicamp.

So, how much stock can we put into Quinn's comments? Is he uncertain about Daniels? Alternatively, has the dual-threat passer not made considerable strides like the Commanders coach insists he has? Or is this an attempt to deploy a smokescreen?

Dan Quinn tries to deploy a smokescreen over Jayden Daniels' QB1 chances

Daniels is competing with veteran journeyman Marcus Mariota for the starting quarterback gig, which the team signed to a one-year contract in March. Do we expect him to lose this competition?

In 2023, Daniels established himself as the premier mobile quarterback in college football en route to earning Heisman Trophy honors. He completed 72.2 percent of his pass attempts for 3,812 yards while boasting a dazzling 40-to-four touchdown-to-interception ratio. Additionally, he converted 135 carries into 1,134 yards and 10 scores. After putting up video game numbers in the most competitive conference in the nation, it is hard to envision him taking a backseat to Mariota.

Mariota's nine-year career is enough of a sample size to know the Commanders have a problem if Daniels can't beat him in a positional battle. However, we can commend Quinn for the unsuccessful gamesmanship attempt ahead of training camp.