Jayden Daniels Talks 'Narrative' Around Himself, Drake Maye, Caleb Williams, 2024 NFL Draft QB Class

Washington Commanders quarterback Daniels made it clear he doesn't see his 2024 draft class peers' recent success as a motivator, noting that the "narrative" around the class, which includes Caleb Williams and Drake Maye, will shift year to year.

"I'm happy for them," Daniels told ESPN's John Keim .. "We're all chasing a common goal and obviously you want to be the best, you want to win the Super Bowl, and I'm not rooting for them to do bad.

"There's a lot of stuff that's said of other people in my class and they should get that respect that they earned also. It was a different narrative our rookie year. So every year it's just going to be a flip-flop narrative and we're always going to get compared with each other, especially the top three picks."

Six quarterbacks were selected in the top 12 of the 2024 NFL draft , including the entire top three, which consisted of the Chicago Bears' Williams, Daniels and the New England Patriots' Maye.

Daniels got off to a hot start in 2024, earning Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year honors and leading the Commanders to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1991. Washington won 14 games (including playoffs), and Daniels accounted for 37 total touchdowns factor in the postseason.

He played just seven games during an injury-shortened 2025 season.

Meanwhile, a few QBs from that draft (Williams, Maye and the Denver Broncos' Bo Nix) just enjoyed great 2025 campaigns. Williams engineered some late-game magic en route to leading the Bears to an NFC North title.

Nix did the same as the Broncos earned the AFC's No. 1 seed and made the conference championship game. Maye, of course, guided the Patriots to an AFC title after a 14-win regular season, up 10 victories from the year prior.

As Daniels noted, people will always compare the 2024 draft class quarterbacks. However, another year brings new chances for the narratives to change.

Daniels, for his part, absolutely can return to his rookie year form. He helped turn around a long-struggling franchise in just one year thanks in part to his great play. He can lead another turnaround once again.