For just the fourth time since the NFL draft began in 1967, the top three picks in 2024 were all quarterbacks. The clean sweep happened in 1971, 1999 and then again in 2021. In 1971, all three quarterbacks â Jim Plunkett, Archie Manning and Dan Pastorini â all went on to successful NFL careers.
The same couldn’t be said for 1999 and 2024 when, in each instance, only one of the quarterbacks selected in the top three was not a bust â Donovan McNabb in ’99, and Trevor Lawrence in ’21.
What about 2024? Obviously, one full season is too early to tell. But what is known is that as a rookie, only one of the three had what could be called a successful season.
That was the No. 2 overall pick out of LSU, Jayden Daniels.
Daniels started all 17 regular season games for the Washington Commanders, throwing for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns with only nine interceptions, leading the team to 12 wins â after the Commanders won only four the previous season.
Daniels then marched the Commanders through the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the 15-2 Detroit Lions in the playoffs before finally losing in the NFC Conference Championship game to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
His sensational rookie season earned Daniels the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award, a Pro Bowl selection and enough votes for MVP to finish seventh in the balloting.
By his side â or, some critics said, hovering over the 24-year-old â was his mother, Regina Jackson, who has become a prominent and controversial figure in her own right.
Here’s what you need to know about Jayden Daniels’ mom.
Jackson is Her Son’s Business Manager
According to a report by USA Today CommandersWire, Jackson has been deeply involved in the financial aspects of her son’s life since an early age. She was the business manager of his Pop Warner youth football team, and quickly became president of the youth football organization’s local chapter, a position she held for six years.
She holds dual Master’s degrees in hospital administration and entrepreneurial business and according to the reports, acts as her son’s business manager â an important role considering that Daniels is now in the second season of his four-year, $37.7 million rookie contract.
“He knows football because that is what he has been doing and doing it very well,” Jackson said in an interview earlier this year. “But he doesn’t know the business world. He doesn’t know the predators or vultures that could be out there.”
She Has Been Accused of Preventing Him From Dating
In an interview with the Amazon Prime program The Money Game, conducted when Daniels was still at LSU, Jackson was asked what concerned her most about her son’s upcoming NFL career.
Her answer: “Girls. Them girls.”
Jackson went on to say that, “Some girl out here, sheâs got a Jayden Daniels wall and her mama says, ‘Hey honey, youâre going to the be the one to get âem…. I guarantee there’s someone who’s trying to get their hooks into Jayden Daniels. So thank God he got a mama like me because it ainât happening.”
Daniels unlike many high-profile young athletes remains unmarried and without any publicly known dating life.
She is an NFL Agent, But Not His Agent
In July of 2024, as Daniels prepared for his rookie year, his mother studied for and passed the required tests to become a certified agent for NFL players, as defined by the NFL Players Association.
While other NFL parents have been certified as agents, according to CBS Sports, Jackson appears to be the first parent of a top-thee draft pick to earn the certification.
But she does not serve as Daniels’ agent. He is reportedly represented by Ron Butler of Agency 1 Athlete Management Group.
“For her, taking the agent’s test is because she wants to be knowledgeable and helping her son and guiding him through his NFL career,” family publicist Denise White told CBS. “It’s important for her to have all that knowledge so she can give her son guidance, which will help him focus on the field and she can help focus off the field for him.”
Jackson Denies That She Bans Her Son From Dating
In an interview on Mother’s Day this year, Jackson insisted that she does not control Daniels’ personal life.
âIâm putting it on record. My son can date, he can live freely, make his own decisions. However, with the relationship we have, he does value my opinion because when my kids were little, I did a lot for them and my kids saw that,” Jackson said at the time.
In one viral video, however, Jackson is seen inserting herself between her son and USC women’s basketball star JuJu Watkins as they sit courtside having a friendly conversation.
She Co-Parents Her Son With His Dad, Javon Daniels
There appears to be no public evidence that Jackson was ever married to Javon Daniels, Jayden’s father and a former college football cornerback at Washington and Iowa State, but the pair have always shared the younger Daniels’ parenting duties.
They met at Cajon High School in San Bernardino, California â the same high school Jayden later attended â but evidently reconnected a few year later, because their son was born on December 18, 2000.
Both parents attended the 2023 Heisman Trophy ceremony when Jayden won the award.
âEveryone is proud of him. Our families came together and supported him,” Javon Daniels said at the ceremony. “I know his mom is proud of him. I know Iâm proud.â
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