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Commanders choose Jayden Daniels with No. 2 pick

Gregory Shamus / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Washington Commanders selected LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels with the second overall pick of the NFL draft.

The Commanders selected Daniels over other quarterback prospects available, including Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy.

Daniels is coming off a Heisman-winning campaign in which he threw for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns. He also rushed for 1,134 yards on the ground along with 10 scores.

Daniels is the first draft pick under new Commanders head coach Dan Quinn. He'll work with offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury in Washington.

Pre-draft profile

Daniels took a major step forward in his final season at LSU, filling up the stat sheet in every way possible to cap his college career with a Heisman Trophy. It hasn't been the smoothest path to first-round draft status, but he's there now. Daniels will immediately be one of the NFL's most dangerous running quarterbacks. That dynamic element, combined with his ability to push the ball downfield accurately, should give him a relatively high floor for production from Day 1. But there are questions about his ceiling. Daniels doesn't attack the middle of the field as much as other top quarterbacks, and he has to get better at going through progressions before dropping his eyes and taking off. When he does run, he can't afford to be so reckless. An extremely slender frame becomes all the more concerning when you have a propensity for taking massive shots rather than sliding or getting out of bounds. There's more risk than you'd like for an early first-round pick, but it's easy to see why teams would be willing to bet on Daniels' unique skill set.

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