Rekubit Exchange:Jayden Daniels says pre-draft Topgolf outing with Washington Commanders 'was awesome'

ASHBURN,Rekubit Exchange Va. – As far as first impressions go, the Washington Commanders and new quarterback Jayden Daniels don't need a mulligan.

After some draft-week speculation that Daniels wasn't pleased following his visit to Washington ahead of the 2024 NFL draft – the team taking a group of top quarterbacks and other prospects to Topgolf – the second overall pick clarified that he enjoyed the experience.

“It was cool. It was fun. To be able to enjoy a process with three other guys that I know personally and (have been) working out with," Daniels said Friday during his introductory news conference, less than 24 hours after Washington selected the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner with the second overall pick.

The Commanders took more than 20 prospects to Topgolf, including Daniels and Drake Maye, J.J. McCarthy and Michael Penix Jr.

The social media activity of Daniels' agent, Ron Butler, who liked posts criticizing the organizational approach and responded to a video from Pro Football Talk that bashed the evaluation process, fueled speculation that Daniels would not end up a Commander. He had to explicitly say he had no issues with the Commanders the day before the draft.

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"It was fun, to be able to come out here and not only focus on football," Daniels said Friday.  "Just to get away, kind of recharge the mind. We had so much pressure, stress as far as I had to go here, traveling, learning installs, stuff  like that, so to get away from that and have fun and connect with guys … it was awesome."

After selecting Daniels, general manager Adam Peters said the Topgolf tactic was something he picked up while working in the San Francisco 49ers' front office.

"We believed that it was a really good process and an enjoyable process," Peters said. "And sometimes there's not a whole lot going on, you know, when you're waiting two weeks or whatever for the draft, and there's not a whole lot to talk about. And something kind of gets legs and it is what it is."

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The focus for Daniels now, he said, shifts to learning offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury's playbook and familiarizing himself with his teammates.

Commanders head coach Dan Quinn, also in his first year with the team, didn't commit to Daniels being the starter from Day 1 – although it would be relatively surprising if Daniels weren't the Week 1 starter. Daniels, 23, was a starter for five years between Arizona State (2019-21) and Louisiana State (2022-23).

"This is a mature guy," Quinn said. "He's had a lot of starts, he's been through the fires and there's some that you can gain from that."

Daniels joins a quarterback room in Washington with Marcus Mariota, also a former No. 2 pick, and veteran Jeff Driskel.

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Since managing partner Josh Harris and his ownership group purchased the Commanders last year, they revamped the front office, hired a new coach, spent in free agency on both sides of the ball and now, he hopes, has the quarterback of the future.

"If we end up with an elite quarterback, if we build around that person, this thing can get going in a big way," Harris said. "I'm optimistic. Obviously, we're going to have to do everything we can do to develop a system around him ... but we're off to a good start."

Harris said the 4-13 campaign from last season in Ron Rivera's final year at the helm was particularly difficult for him – not to mention the fan base. Daniels said he doesn't feel pressure to succeed beyond what he has placed on himself.

At 7 years old, he hung a sheet of paper in his bedroom with the words “I will play in the NFL” written on it.

“You put a task out to Jayden, he’ll complete it,” said the quarterback's father, Javon. 

Between his first season at LSU and his second, Daniels started to work out like a pro, his father said. Workout started at 5 a.m. He flew his receivers to Arizona for spring break instead of vacationing. Instead of living at home last summer, he rented an AirBnB.

“Jayden understands pressure," Javon said. "He asked for his position as a child.” 

Daniels also mentioned personal adversity that prepared him for this moment. What he was referencing, Javon later said, was losing both of his paternal grandparents in 2021. He was especially close with his grandfather.

"Having to maintain to be the quarterback or the face of a school and then having to deal with that and then losing them, we all suffered from that," Javon said. "Then you take the pressure and the stress. It was the ebb and flow of life. There have been times where he dipped down (emotionally). There are times you look at his career and say ‘Oh, why is this kid not playing well?’

"Because nobody looks at the personal side of it. We look at the professional side, or the sports side. Things that he was going through he had to overcome. He got through that period of life and it made him much stronger and it may have motivated him even more to get to the point where he’s at now."