Jayden Daniels - 2025 Season in Review
- IamCogs
- Jan 5
- 8 min read
There's a lot that can be said about second year quarterback Jayden Daniels, but at the same time I feel like the entire picture wasn't painted mainly due in part to a 2025 season that was derailed by multiple injuries, not only from Jayden himself, but across the Commanders roster.
It was a season that saw the Commanders signal caller make just 7 total starts, while the longest stretch of starts he made amounted to just 3 between weeks 5-7. (coincidentally this run of games, overall, saw his best play where he averaged a 1.02 game score per game.) It was mostly a lost season not only for the young quarterback, but for the Commanders franchise as a whole.
In this review we will take a look at some metrics, some positives, some negatives, some areas of improvement and a 2026 prediction.
The Metrics:
For more on the information presented in the graphic above, click here.
QB Tier: This is my person opinion on where I believe he should be ranked as a quarterback among the 32 starters: Lower B, solidly in the QB 14-18 range.
Archetype: Scrambler, with a slight tendency lean towards Dual-Threat, if he can improve upon keeping his eyes down field when escaping the pocket and learning to be less run first, he can become more akin to Dual-Threat quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen.
Grade: This is the alphabetical score correlated to his average game score on the year. It was a tough season across the board in Washington, and issues with health no doubt impacted his overall ability. Jayden Daniels finished 2025 with a C-.
Metrics Breakdown
Quarterback ranking for each category is relative to the 7 quarterbacks graded in 2025, through week 17.
Metric | Description | Value | Rank |
Avg. 1st Half | Average graded score for the 1st half. | -0.46 | 6th |
Avg. 2nd Half | Average graded score for the 2nd half. | 0.03 | 4th |
Avg. Game | Average graded score for a game. | -0.46 | 5th |
Good+ Games | Total Games with final grade "Good" or better. | 1 | t4th |
Bad- Games | Total Games with final grade "Bad" or worse. | 1 | 4th |
TPR | Average True Passer Rating. | 97.1 | 6th |
PFF | PFF Offensive Score for the season. | 74.9 | 5th |
Passer Rating | Season NFL Passer Rating. | 88.1 | 6th |
Adjusted% | Completions + drops / aimed throws (spikes/bats/throwaways excluded.) | 76.2% | 4th |
On-Target% | Throws that would have hit the intended receiving target (spikes/bats/throwaways excluded.) | 65.6% | 5th |
Positive Play% | Plays graded Above Average or higher / total snaps. | 19.23% | 5th |
Negative Play% | Plays graded Below Average or lowers/ total snaps. | 24.83% | 2nd |
Neutral Play% | Plays graded Average or Ungraded / total snaps. | 54.90% | 3rd |
Turnover% | Plays graded Above Average or higher / total snaps. | 2.45% | 5th |
Big Play% | Great + Elite plays / total snaps. | 3.50% | 7th |
Poor Play% | Poor + Turnover plays / total snaps. | 9.44% | 4th |
Time to Throw | Average time from when the ball hits the QB's hands to when he releases it. | 2.69 | 4th |
Time to Pressure | Average time QB experiences or reacts to pressure. | 2.27 | 6th |
Pressure% | Total pressures / total snaps. | 37.23% | 1st |
At-Fault Sack% | Sacks deemed QB's fault / total snaps. | 4.55% | 2nd |
LOS On-Tar% | On-Tar Throw % behind the line of scrimmage. | 86.5% | 1st |
Short On-Tar% | On-Tar Throw % 1-9 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. | 61.1% | 7th |
Medium On-Tar% | On-Tar Throw % 10-19 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. | 68.3% | 1st |
Deep On-Tar% | On-Tar Throw % 20+ yards beyond the line of scrimmage. | 48.1% | 3rd |
The Good:
Jayden Daniels possesses elite mobility, which in turn allows him to confound defenses with his built-in escapability, and makes positive plays with his legs. This extends drives for his offense at a fairly normal rate. This mobility allowed him to pick up 14 first downs on 58 total rushing attempts in 2025, resulting in a 24.1% first down rate on those runs.
Despite being a quarterback that can extend plays with his legs, Jayden's charted time to throw of just 2.69 seconds in 2025 means he is decisive in either throwing early, or making a play with his legs early, aided by a quick and efficient throwing motion, that gets the ball out of his hands quick in nearly all throwing platforms.
Daniels possesses good arm talent overall, as his compact throwing motion generates good velocity on his ball. He has decent drive with good lower body mechanics which allow him to hit tighter windows when accurate.
Jayden also has the ability throw deep with pretty good accuracy, holding a 48.1% On-Target % throwing 20+ yards in 2025. He really shines in the intermediate of the field, hitting an On-Target % of 68.3% in throws between 10-19 yards. A mark that is by far the best of the 7 quarterbacks graded in 2025.
Daniels owns a respectable 65.6% On-Target % overall, and sports a very healthy 76.2% Adjusted Completion % in 2025. Jayden is great in the clutch, leading 4 game winning drives/fourth quarter comebacks in 2024, and although opportunities were few and far between in 2025, in the 4th quarter Daniels put up 295 yards, 4 touchdowns, and a 128.7 Passer Rating, and a 155.0 TPR while sporting a very healthy 71.1% completion %.
The Bad:
The obvious elephant in the room is questions about his durability, especially given the manner he plays the game. Jayden relies on making plays with his legs when something in the pass game isn't available, however, most of the time he isn't giving himself up or finding the boundary to avoid hits. He has 5 different injuries, 1 in 2024 where he sprained ribs in his chest (ironically this was on a play he was sliding to give himself up), an injury he managed to play through using a protective flak jacket.
Then in 2025, he suffered 4 different injuries, one to his knee in week 2 against the Packers that put him out 2 games. A Hamstring injury against the Cowboys that had him miss an additional game. An elbow dislocation against the Seahawks that put him out 3 games, and finally an Elbow Sprain against the Vikings that ended his season. One of Daniels' major concerns coming out of college was his frame and how it would handle NFL level physicality, and thus far it's proven to be an issue. Leaving one to wonder whether or not these injuries will effect him mentally with his play style, and obviously physically due to the toll the take on the human body.
He also struggled to string together quality starts on the year, only 3 of his 7 starts say positive scores, his best of the 7 coming in week 5 against the Chargers on the road where he posted a 4.70. His lows were pretty brutal, including a -6.30 stinker against the Packers, and a -2.05 against a poor Dallas defense, albeit an injury shortened game. After a stellar rookie year, that won him offensive rookie of they year honors, it was an inconsistant at best 2025 season, that was no doubt impacted by injuries, but the bar was set high after his rookie year.
His big play rate (BPR%) was a mere 3.5% on the year while his poor play rate (PPR%) was at 9.4%. His 3.5% BRP% was 7th among the 7 quarterbacks I graded in 2025, and his PPR% is 4th worst, behind Bo Nix (9.4%), Jared Goff (9.4%) and J.J. McCarthy (15.6%).
Again, injuries not only to Daniels, but his weapons can also effect this. Terry McLaurin spent the majority of the season on and off the injury report, both McLaurin and Daniels played in the same game just 3 times all season. After a 2024 that saw him hit 22 big time throws and post a respectable 38.6% Adj% deep (20+ yards) and a very impressive 75.2% Adj% in the intermediate (10-19 yards) 2025 saw an overall dip in his big play ability.
One interesting thing that stood out with his overall accuracy was his struggles in the short level (1-9 yards) of the field, where his was 7th in raw completion % (62.5%) and 6th in On-Target % (61.1%). The average completion % across the 7 quarterbacks I grade through week 17 64.2%, and the average On-Target % was 71.6%.
His reliance on 1 read "throw or go" play design only serves to hinder his overall development, and as a result his ability to diagnose and read an opposing defense, pre and post-snap lags behind. Kliff Kingsbury did a good job in 2024 catering a offense to work with Jayden's strengths from LSU, but my main concern there is capping his growth as an NFL quarterback. This catering to his strengths as doesn't help him with Anticipatory throws, in order to be a long term successful quarterback one must be able to throw Digs, Outs, Posts and Corners with high levels of anticipation, something Jayden is currently inconsistant with, and the style of offense ran for him in Washington does not do him any favors in getting better there.
Despite his mobility his at-fault sack % was 2nd last of the 7 quarterbacks I grade, sitting at 4.55%, second to last to only J.J. McCarthy (4.98%) through Week 17. Average across those 7 quarterbacks sits around 2.65%. This compounds injury concerns, as well as awareness concerns, as even with elite mobility, he is taking sacks at his own accord near double the average rate.
Finally his True Passer Rating (TPR) was just 97.1 on the year. A TPR of 100.0-110.0 notates a league average starting quarterback, meaning his season fell just under average. He posted a below average TPR score in 4 of his 7 starts, but a 147.9 performance against the Los Angeles Chargers stands out as his statement game in 2025.
The Conclusion:
Jayden Daniels is a talented quarterback limited by injuries in 2025. I really wish I had more tape on him in 2025, and it really makes me want to go back to 2024 to see a larger picture.
My hope for 2026 is to see his game transform a bit, of Jayden's 286 snaps graded in 2025, he took only 11 under center. The ability to play under center, while using play-action to attack defenses in multiple manners is becoming more and more a necessity in the modern NFL. My hope is that Kingsbury challenges his quarterback more in 2026, but my fear is that he wont, given his history with other quarterbacks, like Kyler Murray who had a very quick ascension in the league, only to plateau and stagnate due to lack of proper offensive development.
A more pro-style offense, and to be clear this doesn't have to be a full shift, will, in my opinion, benefit Jayden in the long term. Even if the returns aren't as pleasing initially as they were in his rookie year.
The question is whether or not Kliff Kingsbury can blend the Washington Air Raid style of offense catered to Daniels from his time at LSU, into something more pro-style. If so, it's a matter of whether or not Daniels is capable of running it.
These changes would also benefit his durability as it gets him under center more, gets him reading defenses more, and shifts focus away from the "one read and go" style of offense he runs as a majority. And it would also help his anticipatory throwing, as under center play-action is suited well for attacking the middle of the field, an area best suited for Digs, Crossers, Posts, and Ins, all throws that require some level of anticipation to throw.
2026 is a big season for Jayden Daniels, coming off a 2025 riddled with injury and what some may see as underwhelming performance, Daniels will look to silence critics and revert to the form that won him the offensive rookie of the year award in 2024.
As it stands, Jayden Daniels is a solid starting quarterback with the upside to push into top 10 territory with the proper development.
Comments