Projected Commanders depth chart after Jayden Daniels officially gets anointed QB1

It’s a franchise that has had three different names dating back to 2016. Why that year? That’s the last time Washington finished with a winning record. The team comes off a 4-13 showing and is starting anew (again) with a new head coach (Dan Quinn) who is quite familiar with the NFC East.

The Washington Commanders will also have a new starting quarterback. Sam Howell opened all 17 games for the team in 2023 and threw for 3,946 yards and 21 scores. He also ran for 263 yards and five touchdowns. On the other hand, he had just as many picks as TD passes, was sacked 65 times and committed 23 of the team’s 32 turnovers.

Howell was traded to the Seahawks this offseason. The team was in the market for a new quarterback, and the Commanders got their man with the second-overall pick in April’s draft.

Jayden Daniels named Commanders starter

The team made it official on Monday. The 2023 Heisman Trophy winner has earned the starting job for Quinn’s team.

Former LSU standout Jayden Daniels has started both games this summer. While he did not throw a touchdown pass in either contest, he connected on 80.0 percent of his tosses for 123 yards. 

In his preseason debut, he and the Commanders marched 70 yards on 11 plays vs. the New York Jets, and culminated the drive with a three-yard touchdown run by the rookie quarterback.

Against the Dolphins this past weekend, he orchestrated a pair of nine-play drives. The first resulted in a 49-yard missed field goal by Riley Patterson, who connected on a 46-yarder the next time Daniels and company had the ball.

The young performer has also run three times for 16 yards, including the aforementioned touchdown jaunt vs. the Daniels has not been sacked and hasn’t committed a turnover.

Projected Commanders QB depth chart with Jayden Daniels as the starter

• QB1: Jayden Daniels
• QB2: Marcus Mariota
• QB3: Jeff Driskel

So, what about the rest of the quarterback room? The Commanders currently have five quarterbacks on their roster, and recently added one-time Ravens’ and Cardinals’ signal-caller Trace McSorley. All five have seen action this preseason, much of that via Jeff Driskel. Veteran Marcus Mariota and undrafted rookie free agent Sam Hartman (Notre Dame) are banged up and did not play at Miami. When it’s all said and done, McSorley and Hartman could be the odd men out. Meanwhile, Driskel will push Mariota for the No. 2 job.

With any luck, Quinn and the Commanders won’t have to test their depth at quarterback this season.