Getty Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels.
It’s truth serum time. The people in the room are Chicago Bears head coach Nate Eberflus, general manager Ryan Poles and chairman George McCaskey, the son of Bears owner Virginia Halas McCaskey.
You get to ask them one question, and they have to tell the truth.
With hindsight being 20/20 do you still take Caleb Williams over Jayden Daniels with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft?
In no universe does that answer now end with the Bears still taking Williams over Daniels — and especially not after he led the Washington Commanders to an 18-15 win over the Bears on a 52-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass to Noah Brown as time expired.
The Washington Commanders Hail Mary set to Father Stretch My Hands
With that game as the exclamation point and the first part of the 2024 regular season as the rest of the evidence, Daniels has rendered the discussion between who should have gone No. 1 overall completely moot.
In their first head-to-head showdown, Daniels was 21-of-38 passing for 326 yards, 1 touchdown and no interceptions with 52 rushing yards on 8 carries. He was also playing on an injured rib that made him a game time decision.
Williams went 10-of-24 passing for 131 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions with 41 rushing yards on 10 carries.
Daniels has the Commanders at 6-2 and in first place in the NFC East and in the driver’s seat for a playoff berth and their first winning season since 2015. He’s also a dark horse in the NFL MVP race. The Bears are 4-3 and in last place in the NFC North.
“Will (Williams) get better? Yes. I’m sure he’s going to get better because he has to,” former Bears linebacker Lance Briggs said on the Briggs and Brown Postgame Show following the loss to the Commanders. “But he’s not where he needs to be right now.
“… if he gives the receivers a chance, we’re not talking about a game that comes down to a Hail Mary. We’re talking about a game where we’re up 10 points at the end.”
Recent History of QBs Taken 1-2 in NFL Draft
In 2024, quarterbacks were taken 1-2 in the NFL draft for the second consecutive season — the first time that’s happened since 1998 and 1999.
The last 2 years have something else in common. The quarterback selected No. 2 overall would be the clear-cut No. 1 overall pick in a re-draft.
In 2023, the Carolina Panthers selected Alabama’s Bryce Young at No. 1 followed by the Houston Texans selecting Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud at No. 2. Less than 2 seasons into his career, Young is 2-17 as a starter, has already been benched once and is shaping up as one of the NFL’s all-time busts for a No. 1 overall pick.
Stroud was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and a Pro Bowler in 2023 and has the Texans cruising toward a second consecutive AFC South Division title.
Draft Tall QBs If You Want to Win Super Bowl
One thing that’s proven true over and over in NFL history is that if you want to win a Super Bowl, you are almost certainly going to need a tall quarterback.
In the last 25 years, the Super Bowl has only been won by quarterbacks under 6-foot-2 twice — Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (5-foot-11) in 2014 and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (6-foot) in 2010.
Over that same time span, quarterbacks who are 6-foot-3 or taller have won the Super Bowl 18 times. For comparison’s sake, Daniels is 6-foot-4 and Williams is 6-foot-1.
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Commanders’ Daniels Puts Emphatic End to 1-2 Rookie QB Debate