Jayden Daniels is widely considered the favorite to join the Washington Commanders as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but the LSU product may not be quite as much of a lock as recent reports might have suggested.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who has repeatedly indicated Daniels will likely be Washington’s choice at the top of the draft, backtracked on Friday.
Latest on Washington Commanders’ Interest in QB Jayden Daniels
Earlier this month, Schefter signaled that most signs pointed toward Daniels heading to the nation’s capital.
“I know we’re not supposed to spoil picks, and we’ll see how the Commanders decide to move forward with the No. 2 overall selection,” Schefter said on an episode of his podcast.
“But a little over a few weeks out, to me, I think the signs continue to point to Jayden Daniels being the second overall pick. Seems like he’s popular in the scouting community; seems like he’d bring a lot of the attributes that the Commanders would like.”
Schefter doubled down a few weeks later, telling Washington fans it was safe for them to purchase Daniels jerseys in burgundy and gold.
Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday, Schefter said his jersey comment was overblown and somewhat backtracked on the likelihood of Daniels ending up in D.C.
Schefter also added another potentially explosive nugget — that Daniels may not want to play for the Commanders.
"It has been tracking for Jayden Daniels to go at number two..
It feels like Jayden Daniels has an interest in being other places..
We’ll see what the Washington Commanders do with that information" ~ @AdamSchefter #PMSLive https://t.co/6pVLDVMIHO pic.twitter.com/U7nijL0ZQw
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 19, 2024
“I think it’s a situation where, from the outset, Jayden Daniels has had an interest in being other places,” Schefter said. “He just has! … OK, what do the Commanders do about that? There have been plenty of players who have wanted to play elsewhere, and teams don’t care; they just do what they do.
“Or, if there’s a team that wants [Daniels] — i.e., a team that used to essentially have a coach that worked with him in college — then they have to trade for him.”
Schefter is referring to Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce, who worked as a defensive assistant at Arizona State while Daniels was a Sun Devil from 2019 to 2021.
Meanwhile, Daniels and his camp may not have been pleased with Washington’s decision to host him and fellow quarterback prospects Drake Maye, J.J. McCarthy, and Michael Penix Jr. simultaneously.
KEEP READING: Top QBs in the 2024 NFL Draft
On Wednesday, Daniels’ agent, Ron Butler, quote-tweeted a post in which Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio criticized the Commanders for meeting with four QBs at once, adding a “thinking” emoji to convey his thoughts.
Still, Schefter said at the end of Friday’s McAfee appearance that he “still think[s] Jayden Daniels is the favorite to go No. 2.” Whether that means Daniels is going to Washington or another club might remain up in the air.
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