No. 5 – Washington Commanders | |
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Position: | Quarterback |
Personal information | |
Born: | San Bernardino, California, U.S. | December 18, 2000
Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
Weight: | 210 lb (95 kg) |
Career information | |
High school: | Cajon (San Bernardino) |
College: |
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NFL draft: | 2024 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2 |
Career history | |
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Roster status: | Unsigned draft pick |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Career NFL statistics | |
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
Jayden Daniels (born December 18, 2000) is an American football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils for three seasons before transferring to the LSU Tigers in 2022. Having a dual-threat playstyle, Daniels won the Heisman Trophy in 2023 after leading all college football players with 50 touchdowns (40 passing, 10 rushing) and nearly 5,000 yards of total offense. He was selected by the Commanders second overall in the 2024 NFL draft.
Daniels was born on December 18, 2000, in San Bernardino, California. [1] [2] He grew up playing several sports, including football, basketball, and soccer. Daniels attended and played football at Cajon High School in San Bernardino, totaling 211 touchdowns (170 passing, 41 rushing) and 17,642 yards (14,007 passing, 3,635 rushing) during his career. [1] [3] He also ran track at Cajon, participating in the 100 metres, 200 metres, 400 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay. [4] Daniels was named the men's recipient of the Ken Hubbs Award, given annually the top high school athletes in San Bernardino, following a Citrus Belt League championship and state finals appearance as a senior in 2018. [lower-alpha 1] [3] He was rated as the top dual-threat quarterback prospect of the 2019 college football class by 247Sports and committed to play for the Sun Devils at Arizona State University; Daniels graduated from Cajon and enrolled in January 2019. [5] [6]
Daniels was the first true freshman quarterback to start opening day for the Sun Devils, scoring three total touchdowns in a win against the Kent State Golden Flashes. [7] [8] He was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week after passing for 408 yards and scoring three touchdowns in a Week 13 upset win against the #6 ranked Oregon Ducks. [lower-alpha 2] [9] Daniels threw for 17 touchdowns and 2,943 yards for the 2019 season, the latter stat being a school record for a freshman. [10] He was voted MVP of the 2019 Sun Bowl in a win over the Florida State Seminoles and named a semifinalist for the FWAA freshman of the year award. [11] [12]
Daniels and the Sun Devils played only four games in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, including scoring three touchdowns in a 70–7 Territorial Cup win against the Arizona Wildcats. [13] In June 2021, the NCAA announced that Arizona State was under investigation for violating recruiting guidelines set for the COVID-19 pandemic, with them finding Daniels' mother had booked $1,100 in flights for staff to visit recruits. [14] [15] In 2021, he led the Pac-12 in completion percentage (65.4) while throwing for 2,381 yards with 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, the latter being the highest of his career, en route to an 8-5 record and an appearance in the 2021 Las Vegas Bowl against the Wisconsin Badgers. [16] [17]
In March 2022, Daniels transferred to Louisiana State University to play for the LSU Tigers. [18] He was named the starter over Garrett Nussmeier prior to the opening game of the 2022 season. [19] Daniels led the Tigers to a 9–3 record and an appearance in the 2022 SEC Championship Game against the Georgia Bulldogs. [20] Daniels left the game with an ankle injury following a sack by Jalen Carter late in the second quarter. [lower-alpha 3] [20] He returned for the 2023 Citrus Bowl the following week and caught a touchdown pass from wide receiver Malik Nabers in a 63–7 win over the Purdue Boilermakers. [21] He finished the season as a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award after accounting for 28 touchdowns (17 passing, 11 rushing). [8] [22] [23]
Daniels won the Heisman Trophy for the 2023 season after setting the NCAA single-season passer rating record (208.0) and leading college football with 50 touchdowns (40 passing, 10 rushing) and 4,946 yards of total offense (3,812 passing, 1,134 rushing). [8] [24] He was the third LSU player to win it behind Billy Cannon (1959) and Burrow (2019) and won several other player of the year awards. [24] Daniels set a SEC record with 606 total yards against the Florida Gators [lower-alpha 4] and became the first player in FBS history to pass for 350 and run for 200 in single game. He scored eight touchdowns against the Georgia State Panthers the following week. [lower-alpha 5] [25] [26] He led the team to a 10–3 record before sitting out of the 2024 ReliaQuest Bowl to prepare for the 2024 NFL draft. Daniels finished his college career with 16,057 total yards of offense, the sixth-highest in FBS history and the only to pass for 12,000 yards while rushing for 3,000. [27] [28]
Year | School | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
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GP | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
2019 | Arizona State | 12 | 8–4 | 205 | 338 | 60.7 | 2,943 | 8.7 | 17 | 2 | 149.2 | 125 | 355 | 2.8 | 3 | |
2020 | 4 | 2–2 | 49 | 84 | 58.3 | 701 | 8.3 | 5 | 1 | 145.7 | 33 | 223 | 6.8 | 4 | ||
2021 | 13 | 8–5 | 197 | 301 | 65.4 | 2,381 | 7.9 | 10 | 10 | 136.2 | 138 | 710 | 5.1 | 6 | ||
2022 | LSU | 14 | 10–4 | 266 | 388 | 68.6 | 2,913 | 7.5 | 17 | 3 | 144.5 | 186 | 885 | 4.8 | 11 | |
2023 | 12 | 9–3 | 236 | 327 | 72.2 | 3,812 | 11.7 | 40 | 4 | 208.0 | 135 | 1,134 | 8.4 | 10 | ||
Career | 55 | 37–18 | 953 | 1,438 | 66.3 | 12,750 | 8.9 | 89 | 20 | 158.4 | 617 | 3,307 | 5.4 | 34 |
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | |||||||||
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6 ft 3+5⁄8 in (1.92 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | 32+1⁄2 in (0.83 m) | 9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m) | |||||||||
Values from LSU's Pro Day [29] [30] |
Daniels was selected second overall by the Washington Commanders in the 2024 NFL draft. [31] He was one of six quarterbacks taken in the first round, tying the 1983 draft for the most in NFL history. [32]
Daniels' father Javon was a college football cornerback for the Washington Huskies and Iowa State Cyclones in the 1990s. [1] He is a Christian. [42] Daniels chose 5 as his uniform number after former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb. [43] His favorite meal to prepare is spaghetti and other types of pasta, with his favorite snack being honey buns. [44] Daniels holds an undergraduate degree from Arizona State and pursued a Master of Liberal Arts degree at LSU. [45] [46] In 2024, San Bernardino mayor Helen Tran declared January 20 as Jayden Daniels Day and presented him with the Key to the City. [47] Cajon High School also named their football stadium after him. [47]
Daniels signed name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals with brands such as Raising Cane's, Powerade, Beats by Dre, and Urban Outfitters while in college. [48] [49] [50] He will be featured on The Money Game, a NIL-focused docuseries by Prime Video that followed him, Angel Reese, Flau'jae Johnson, and Livvy Dunne through LSU's 2023-24 sports season. [51] Daniels began using virtual reality headsets for training in 2023; the software was custom built and incorporated LSU's playbook and opposing team stadiums that assisted with road game preparation. [52]
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