It hasn’t taken long for Jayden Daniels to step up his game in Year 2, according to Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, who noticed something different about the franchise quarterback at OTAs.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, May 28, Kingsbury revealed Daniels is “still pretty lean, but he’s worked pretty hard. … I haven’t seen his weight, but I’m sure he’s a little thicker than he was,” per Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post.
Kingsbury said the change in body mass has Daniels “throwing harder,” according to Jhabvala’s colleague Sam Fortier, who also noted the OC declared, “You can tell he’s stronger — there’s no doubt.”
Daniels taking any step to get better is good news for the Commanders, but not so good for the rest of the NFL. Last season’s Offensive Rookie of the Year will be a marked man this time, but Kingsbury doesn’t sound worried about defenses having more intel on his star signal-caller.
Jayden Daniels’ Improvement is Necessary for Commanders
The Commanders can’t afford to have Daniels rest on his laurels, even after one of the most spectacular debut campaigns in NFL history. Washington went from 4-13 to the NFC Championship Game on the strength of Daniels throwing for 30 touchdowns across the regular season and playoffs, along with rushing for seven more scores.
A lot of his success was owed to the way Kingsbury streamlined the offense. He created situations where Daniels could get rid of the ball quickly on screens and underneath throws.
Those concepts explain why the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft averaged 5.4 completed air yards per completion, per Pro Football Reference. Daniels’ passes didn’t travel far beyond the line of scrimmage, but the ball was out quick and receivers piled up yards after the catch, averaging 5.4 in YAC per completion.
This was a smart formula for a rookie QB thrown straight into the mix, but Daniels will need to do more in his second season. Especially when defenses will change the picture more often in an attempt to confuse him.
Kingsbury is aware the opposition is plotting new ways to stymie Daniels, but he pointed out Washington’s QB1 “wasn’t fretting about opposing adjustments,” per Ben Standig of The Athletic.
Getting better and taking the top off of defenses in one shot is how Daniels can stay ahead of those adjustments. Fortunately, his game tape already shows the arm talent needed for improvement.
Commanders Already Have a Talented Deep Passer
It’s not as if Daniels isn’t already capable of pushing the ball vertically. The famous “Hail Mary” connection with Noah Brown to beat the Chicago Bears in Week 8 offered ample proof of Daniels’ arm strength.
So did this memorable 27-yard touchdown heave to Terry McLaurin against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3. McLaurin even called the play because he had no doubt Daniels could get him the ball.
That throw in Cincy may be even more impressive than the bomb to Brown. The latter came about because the Bears played passive and afforded Daniels time to move around, set his feet and put everything into the desperation throw.
Finding McLaurin was more difficult because Daniels didn’t have time on 3rd-and-7. The Bengals sent a blitz and got immediate pressure, so Daniels couldn’t set his feet and simply had to rely on the strength of his arm.
Daniels should get more chances to do that this season, even after the Commanders lost playoff hero and natural burner Dyami Brown in free agency. The team did compensate somewhat by selecting Jaylin Lane in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL draft.
While Lane shares playmaking versatility with All-Pro Deebo Samuel, Kingsbury believes the rookie “can really roll,” per Commanders.com Senior Writer Zach Selby.
Using the speed of Lane to include more deep routes in his offense will help Kingsbury play to the area of the field where Daniels is targeting improvement.
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