The Jayden Daniels Tracker

We all have our gripes about the state of the roster and the schedule is a murderers row, but I feel very about JD bouncing back. I’d bet on it, but I want it to actually happen.

The proof of JD5's bounce back will be in his play and the overall health of the players.

I am excited (and admittingly nervous) to see JD5 in this new offense. The potential to see him set a foundation with a first time O-coordinator and get the opportunity to grow the offense together is a big draw for me. I know similar sentiments were thought of with Kingsbury but he had an established offense that he brought to the organization, where in this case with Blough we are going to truly get to see something built from the ground up also with more of the pieces on the team being young now if this first season is a successful enough to be seen as a huge first step, the coming seasons are going to be fun.

CuredFromBatteredFanSyndrome said:

We all have our gripes about the state of the roster and the schedule is a murderers row, but I feel very about JD bouncing back. I’d bet on it, but I want it to actually happen.

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Jayden is a stud. And the fact that its not escaping most national observors that he has one of the weakest supporting casts in the NFL should help the legend when he has a big season in spite of it.

I think the lack of help makes him fall short of a SB run. But he's one of those special QBs, that can make lemonade out of lemons. Maybe an unintended consequence of making him shoulder the load every season like he's already Mahomes in his prime, that when he finally gets a regular slate of weapons (doesn't even have to be great, just average), he will take off even more.

skinsinparadise said:

Jayden is a stud. And the fact that its not escaping most national observors that he has one of the weakest supporting casts in the NFL should help the legend when he has a big season in spite of it.

I think the lack of help makes him fall short of a SB run. But he's one of those special QBs, that can make lemonade out of lemons. Maybe an unintended consequence of making him shoulder the load every season like he's already Mahomes in his prime, that when he finally gets a regular slate of weapons (doesn't even have to be great, just average), he will take off even more.

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Just bear in mind, some average QBs were made to look good not by their supporting cast on O but the quality of their D. In fact, some do argue that the D plays a much bigger role in the success and failure of O than people realize (less pressure to score every time and with complementary football, you end up applying pressure on the opponents).

I heard JP say that he “heard” one of the thoughts was to strengthen the D and help loosen Jayden up that way; he can relax more and not feel like he has to score on every drive.

I get that we should be able to do more, especially at WR (I read your points). Just saying that it will be interesting to see how far they go with this strategy. I am not sure their strategy is so awful, especially with a new OC. Let’s see how they look in real games. But yes in Y3 you’d like to be in a different spot but the reality is, before the season even begins, we know we have a lot to learn with TWO new coordinators.

I think your last point is what is the most disturbing. When you look at the WR corps you have a lot riding on this rookie to be good or very good at least, and then thw group looks “ok” - otherwise it is likely below average. Not good from that viewpoint.

SkinsNumberOne said:

Just bear in mind, some average QBs were made to look good not by their supporting cast on O but the quality of their D. In fact, some do argue that the D plays a much bigger role in the success and failure of O than people realize (less pressure to score every time and with complementary football, you end up applying pressure on the opponents).

I heard JP say that he “heard” one of the thoughts was to strengthen the D and help loosen Jayden up that way; he can relax more and not feel like he has to score on every drive.

I get that we should be able to do more, especially at WR (I read your points). Just saying that it will be interesting to see how far they go with this strategy. I am not sure their strategy is so awful, especially with a new OC. Let’s see how they look in real games. But yes in Y3 you’d like to be in a different spot but the reality is, before the season even begins, we know we have a lot to learn with TWO new coordinators.

I think your last point is what is the most disturbing. When you look at the WR corps you have a lot riding on this rookie to be good or very good at least, and then thw group looks “ok” - otherwise it is likely below average. Not good from that viewpoint.

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This isn't directed at you specifically, but at JP's point, which I've also heard him make on the radio. And for the record, I like JP, so no offense intended to him. I think he's just trying to sell sunshine on the radio about the team, and I do like that everything being equal over the negative nellies.

That said, I've never been a fan of that argument because I think it's incomplete. At times it also comes across as unintentionally condescending. It's not as if those of us pushing for more weapons don't understand how football works or how one position group impacts another. Heck, one of the strongest advocates for upgrading the weapons here, KDawg, coaches defense. He understands it. I understand it to a lessor degree. I believe the people in this discussion understand it.

What I dislike is the binary framing: this versus that. To me, that's the language of a team managing limitations, not a team aggressively pursuing a championship. The implication is that you have to choose between improving the offense or improving the defense. That's not how the elite organizations operate. That's not the Eagles' approach. It's not the Rams' approach. The best teams don't pick one. They attack both.

Using a baseball analogy, it's like looking at a lineup that struggles to score runs and deciding the solution is to improve the defense instead. The team signs a Gold Glove shortstop and an elite center fielder and then explains that by preventing more runs, they'll indirectly help the offense.

Sure, that's true. There is logic behind it.

But when fans point out that the lineup still can't hit, the response becomes, "Relax, let the adults explain the nuance." The thing is, most people already understand the nuance. They understand the theory. They just disagree with the strategy.

Because if you're serious about winning a World Series, you don't stop at upgrading the defense. You upgrade the lineup too.

That's my point with Washington. If you're making a legitimate Super Bowl push, why is it offense or defense? Why not both?

Also, when Jayden doesn't have anyone open, and takes off. He did it a lot in 2024. It's fun to watch. But it puts him more at risk. So even if I believed, which I don't, if you had to pick a top WR over name that top defender -- take that defender -- I don't think the defender does more to protect Jayden from injury let alone help him thrive. But I absolutely want both. A WR and a defense. I want them to operate like the big boy teams shooting for a SB, that's all -- not a 9-8 team who are playing it closer to the margins.

One theory I keep coming back to is that there may end up being an unintended benefit to putting so much on Jayden's plate early in his career.

If he spends the first few years carrying an offense without much of a supporting cast, then the day he finally gets even an average group of weapons around him, the game could slow down dramatically. He may take off in an even bigger way than we've already seen.

It's like taking Advanced Calculus for years and then walking into an Algebra class. Algebra suddenly feels easy because you've been operating at a much higher level. That's how it could feel for Jayden when he finally has a normal supporting cast. And honestly, can you imagine what he'd look like with an above-average one?

Maybe he gets lucky and it happens this season. I wouldn't bet on it, but it's not impossible. Terry would need to stay healthy and remain at his peak. Antonio Williams would need to hit the ground running as a rookie. They'd probably need to land Aiyuk, and he'd need to look like the 2023 version of himself.

That's a lot of things needing to break right, which is why I'm skeptical.

But if it doesn't happen this year, I also don't think Adam Peters is going to keep running the same play indefinitely. He at least tried to address the position this offseason. To me, that suggests he recognizes the issue. I have a hard time believing he goes four straight years without making a meaningful investment at wide receiver.

In the meantime, Jayden does have one weapon that can compensate for receivers failing to separate: his legs.

That was a huge part of what made him special in 2024. When the play breaks down and nobody is open, most quarterbacks take a sack, force a throw, or check the ball down. Jayden can turn those same situations into first downs and explosive plays.

That's why, outside of Lamar Jackson, I'd argue he's the most dangerous running quarterback in football. If receivers aren't winning consistently, he has the rare ability to create offense on his own. It's not the ideal long-term solution, but it's a major reason why Washington can still be dangerous even when the supporting cast isn't where you'd like it to be.

The age old adage “defense wins championships but offense wins games” is extremely accurate. It’s not catch all. There are exceptions. But by and large it holds true. To have a chance your offense has to be able to be productive and win games to get you into the playoffs. In the playoffs is where the defense needs to shine. A bad D and you’re toast. A bad O and you don’t have a shot to get to the playoffs.

It needs to be both.

The plan for Jayden, most likely, is to get by this year, improve the defense this year and give him marked improvement as far as talent goes next year.

Which, if DQ is basically guaranteed another year… makes sense in some ways.

Problem is some of our defensive additions will be in co tract situations next year, too.

The only thing I hope for is that the offense is good enough that Jayden doesn't feel he has to put on the cape so often. I'd love him to halve his number of carries even at the expense of losing out on potentially big plays. Sure, there will be plays where he will be forced to scramble or where the hole needs to be taken advantage of, but he's good enough to threaten with his arm and there's nothing wrong with a dump off or throw away.

One of the things that is obviously true in the NFL, and which fans give verbal acknowledgement to, is that you can't rebuild an entire roster in a season or two. It takes time. GMs will try to do exactly that, but there will be players they pursue but can't sign. There will be picks they make that don't pan out. There will be injuries and other surprises.

While we as fans all know this from an intellectual standpoint, our expectations are that Adam Peters does exactly that. We pretty much expect and demand it every offseason We are fans and what we do best is say things that are reasonable and defensible and rational. But our fan selves also hate losing. We have not seeing dramatic improvements. We hate missing the playoffs. And we react emotionally to all of that when the stars don't line up for our guys (like they did in 2024).

I think Blough and Quinn and Peters fully recognize our WR corps isn't where it needs to be. They swung and missed on the top free agent WRs. Maybe they planned on taking Carnell Tate had he been there at 7, who knows? But the bottom line is, while we improved our talent in multiple areas this offseason (good for AP), our talent at WR is arguably worse than it was in 2025. So Peters still has work to do. Whether they are able to pull something out of their rear ends with Aiyuk or Diggs remains to be seen. But I think it's quite possible our situation at WR is what we have to live with in 2026 and that doesn't necessarily 'reflect' on the Front Office - but to my original point is part of how difficult it is to fill every need in an offseason or two.

The other thing to keep in mind is that money doesn't solve everything. Just because we have a ton of cap space doesn't mean there is an equal amount of free agency quality. That' not to say that adding Pierce, Doubs, or even Diggs wouldn't have given us more peace of mind because it would have, but none of those three signings would have been long term heroes to set our corp for several years going forward. Paying A+ money for a B player gets you in trouble. Frankly, Pierce and Doubs were both only good players. Better than what we have, but neither look to be stars in the making.

burgold said:

The other thing to keep in mind is that money doesn't solve everything. Just because we have a ton of cap space doesn't mean there is an equal amount of free agency quality. That' not to say that adding Pierce, Doubs, or even Diggs wouldn't have given us more peace of mind because it would have, but none of those three signings would have been long term heroes to set our corp for several years going forward. Paying A+ money for a B player gets you in trouble. Frankly, Pierce and Doubs were both only good players. Better than what we have, but neither look to be stars in the making.

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Yes, great post. I actually think we'd be griping about spending $31mil/yr for Alec Pearce and would not have had the ammo to go after other pieces that we needed, especially on defense. Mr. 1.5 catches per game guy is worth nowhere near the amount of money he got. It's crazy how much he made based on potential alone.

Boone said:

One of the things that is obviously true in the NFL, and which fans give verbal acknowledgement to, is that you can't rebuild an entire roster in a season or two. It takes time. GMs will try to do exactly that, but there will be players they pursue but can't sign. There will be picks they make that don't pan out. There will be injuries and other surprises.

While we as fans all know this from an intellectual standpoint, our expectations are that Adam Peters does exactly that. We pretty much expect and demand it every offseason We are fans and what we do best is say things that are reasonable and defensible and rational. But our fan selves also hate losing. We have not seeing dramatic improvements. We hate missing the playoffs. And we react emotionally to all of that when the stars don't line up for our guys (like they did in 2024).

I think Blough and Quinn and Peters fully recognize our WR corps isn't where it needs to be. They swung and missed on the top free agent WRs. Maybe they planned on taking Carnell Tate had he been there at 7, who knows? But the bottom line is, while we improved our talent in multiple areas this offseason (good for AP), our talent at WR is arguably worse than it was in 2025. So Peters still has work to do. Whether they are able to pull something out of their rear ends with Aiyuk or Diggs remains to be seen. But I think it's quite possible our situation at WR is what we have to live with in 2026 and that doesn't necessarily 'reflect' on the Front Office - but to my original point is part of how difficult it is to fill every need in an offseason or two.

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I agree with the point in concept. My issue with it is its three years now, not one or two.

And lol its grating to me when I hear Keim mention multiple times that Diggs will likely be more expensive than Aiyuk and implies that's a factor -- when this team is sitting on almost 50 million in cap space.

I think you (and others - myself included) who argue that the Front Office deviated somewhat from a full-on rebuild plan after the surprising success in 2024 are correct. That slowed our progress. And then moving on from both coordinators (whether justified or not) is also going to slow our progress and perhaps even result in previous acquisitions not being the greatest fits for the schemes our new coordinators are implementing. All of that is not an indictment of AP or anyone else, just part of the learning curve for a new GM.

burgold said:

The other thing to keep in mind is that money doesn't solve everything. Just because we have a ton of cap space doesn't mean there is an equal amount of free agency quality. That' not to say that adding Pierce, Doubs, or even Diggs wouldn't have given us more peace of mind because it would have, but none of those three signings would have been long term heroes to set our corp for several years going forward. Paying A+ money for a B player gets you in trouble. Frankly, Pierce and Doubs were both only good players. Better than what we have, but neither look to be stars in the making.

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We can say the same thing though to discount the defensive additions. The defense sucked. Just throwing money at it this off season should be taken with a grain of salt because as far as we know the defense might just as likely suck next season as it did the same before.

Some nationall said actually what you did about Pierce as to the Oweh signing -- an overpayment for a dude based on potential not production. If we are trusting that Peters nailed it with these type of signings on the defense it would be contradictory to trust his judgment on going after Pierce and feeling lucky that he didn't land that fish IMO.

skinsinparadise said:

We can say the same thing though to discount the defensive additions. The defense sucked. Just throwing money at it this off season should be taken with a grain of salt because as far as we know the defense might just as likely suck next season as it did the same before.

Some nationall said actually what you did about Pierce as to the Oweh signing -- an overpayment for a dude based on potential not production. If we are trusting that Peters nailed it with these type of signings on the defense it would be contradictory to trust his judgment on going after Pierce and feeling lucky that he didn't land that fish IMO.

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But I think that potential is the key difference. We can envision him and a bunch of the other defensive free agents being able to ascend to a higher level. Do we think the offensive guys we've mentioned our ready to take a leap and become a star?

The other factor to keep in mind with all of our offseason acquisitions is that it is risky to assume that a player's performance in one setting will automatically translate in a new environment and scheme. Sometimes a players unique skill set works perfectly in one environment but not so perfectly in another with different goals, different styles, different supporting cast, etc...

Of course, the opposite can also be true - that a player comes to us and explodes (in a positive way) because we put him in a role that better accomodates and takes advantage of those unique skills.

You know what all of the broker commercials say, 'Past performance is no guarantee of future performance'...

Boone said:

I think you (and others - myself included) who argue that the Front Office deviated somewhat from a full-on rebuild plan after the surprising success in 2024 are correct. That slowed our progress. And then moving on from both coordinators (whether justified or not) is also going to slow our progress and perhaps even result in previous acquisitions not being the greatest fits for the schemes our new coordinators are implementing. All of that is not an indictment of AP or anyone else, just part of the learning curve for a new GM.

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I agree. But I'll simplify my point.

I get the strong impression that they are at their limit or close enough as to their cash budget even though they have plenty of space to make another move that's starring in their face.

So to me while I get Harris doesn't have unlimited money, it brings me back to an article I read years back about the Eagles operation where it was said that Lurrie is a secret weapon for them because unlike many owners he doesn't restrict the FO on a cash budget and that they instead use cash as a weapon. Who leads the league right now in cash spending? The Eagles.

But otherwise Harris has been a great owner. No complaints. But man IMO they are so close to completing this roster. They are still on Jayden's rookie contract window, it feels a little depressing to see them punt to 2027.