Jan. 12, 2026, 5:09 a.m. ET
Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels looked like one of the best quarterbacks in the league already as a rookie in 2024.
The quarterback won the Rookie of the Year Award and led the Commanders to the NFC Championship Game last season. However, the 2025 campaign couldn’t have gone much differently, as the team and Daniels struggled mightily.
The Commanders finished with just five wins, and Daniels played in only seven due to multiple injuries. Even when healthy, Daniels looked nothing like what he looked like as a rookie. There were still those great flashes, but the offense as a whole was underwhelming.
Now that the regular season is over, NFL.com’s Nick Shook has ranked every team’s primary quarterback based solely on their 2025 performance. Shook grouped the quarterbacks into tiers, and Daniels is much lower than anybody thought he would be.
Shook has Daniels all the way down in Tier 5 and ranks him 28th out of 32 quarterbacks. Michael Penix Jr., J.J. McCarthy, Shedeur Sanders, and Justin Fields are the only passers rated lower than Daniels.
Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.
Regarding this placement, Shook offered the following:
Jayden Daniels’ highly anticipated sophomore season never got off the ground. Injuries plagued him and the Washington offense throughout the season, robbing us of a chance to see how he could build on his Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign. Now, he’ll have to learn a new offense.
Daniels’ season was indeed ruined by injuries, and now the quarterback has to learn a whole new system after Kliff Kingsbury was fired. Still, there were enough positives from 2024 to make you think that Daniels can still be an elite passer in this league.
The quarterback threw for 1,262 yards, eight touchdowns, and three interceptions. The hope is that a new offensive coordinator and better playmakers will help Daniels get back to his elite production.