Jayden Daniels isn’t playing safety-first football because he’s not an aggressive quarterback. Instead, the Washington Commanders’ starter is being hurt by a host of “bargain basement” problems.
That’s the view of Thom Loverro of The Washington Times, who rejects the opinion of a Pro Football Hall of Fame passer. Loverro’s taken exception to Super Bowl winner Kurt Warner citing Daniels’ cautious “mentality” during recent games.
Warner’s view of Daniels is skewed by the context of his own career, according to Loverro. Even though Commanders’ head coach Dan Quinn backed Warner’s critique of Daniels.
Loverro, by contrast, thinks Warner’s uttering “Bold talk from a quarterback who, for most of his career, let it rip to Hall of Fame and Pro Bowl receivers.”
As Loverro pointed out, “Much of the time Warner was being aggressive with the ball while with the St. Louis Rams and later Arizona Cardinals, he was throwing to Issac Bruce, Torry Holt, Marshall Faulk, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin — three Hall of Famers and 32 Pro Bowls between them. Over a 12-year career, Warner threw 208 touchdown passes — 124 of them to those five receivers.”
There’s a sharp contrast between those names and who Daniels has been throwing to in Washington. Worse still, an unconvincing cast of pass-catchers is far from Daniels’ only problem.
Loverro lists four other fatal flaws undermining the Commanders’ most important player.
Jayden Daniels Being Sold Short by ‘Bargain Basement’ Problems
Loverro believes the Commanders have sold Daniels short by putting patchy talent around him. The problem’s shown up most within his receiving corps.
As Loverro put it, “Once you get past Terry McLaurin, a two-time Pro Bowler, here are some of the receivers Daniels has — Zach Ertz, Olamide Zaccheaus, Noah Brown, Dyami Brown, Luke McCaffrey, Jamison Crowder, Deebo Samuel, Jaylin Lane, Chris Moore, Treylon Burks, Ben Sinnott and John Bates, among other forgettables.”
While few of the names on this list will set pulses racing, Daniels has some exciting targets to aim for during this season. Notably, seven-time 1,000-yard receiver Stefon Diggs, along with impressive rookie, 2026 NFL draft third-round pick Antonio Williams.
McLaurin’s pending season-ending knee surgery has increased the onus on Williams and Diggs to deliver for Daniels. The latter also needs other areas of the team to pick up the slack.
Unfortunately, Loverro sees fundamental weaknesses at core positions around Daniels.
Commanders Remain Weak Around Star QB
Loverro told the critics, “if you really believe Daniels has become gunshy of sorts, it is likely because he has been under fire from all directions — a shaky offensive line, no run game other than Daniels himself, a new play caller in Blough and a $100 million defense that has played like a bargain basement unit. I’m not sure even Rex Grossman would let it rip.”
It’s a tough take, but hard to argue against. Especially when Quinn’s making confusing changes to the defensive staff to try and fix a unit ranked next-to-last in points allowed.
Daniels is consistently having to try and light up scoreboards to compensate for the failings of a new-look defense. That task is hard enough without his go-to receiver, but Daniels is also missing his blindside protector.
Five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil’s chances of returning this season remain murky. It means Daniels will stay subject to the kind of pressure that yielded four sacks for the San Francisco 49ers in Week 6.
A credible running game would help ease the pressure. Unfortunately, the Commanders will hand veteran retread Austin Ekeler a “bigger role” following “a months-long recovery from an Achilles injury,” according to Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic.
Ekeler’s getting the nod because of multiple injuries in the backfield. Including to the team’s primary workhorse, second-year pro Jacory Croskey-Merritt.
Lost amid all these deficiencies is how Daniels is still producing at a historic level, despite the lack of support. He may need to trust his arm more often in first-year coordinator David Blough’s offense, but the idea JD5’s a problem for the Commanders is a tough sell.
Commanders’ Jayden Daniels Hurt by ‘Bargain Basement’ Problem