The Jayden Daniels Tracker

[Chris]

Having now seen a still of the injury I don't doubt he needed some sort of surgery, it's literally 180 degrees from where it should be. The broken bit sounds wrong though as you say Chris.

The broken part and the time travel necessary. 😉

 

[NoCalSkins]

With Jayden Daniels I think it is a combination of things. I don't necessarily think it's the running/scrambling itself, I think he has been less decisive of when to vacate the pocket this season which is leading to him not having the first few steps on defense the way he did last season. We are seeing him do a lot more jogging towards the sideline to buy time instead of just going, and it is allowing defenders to close in on him. I understand that he still wants to look downfield for plays, but with the current WR core available it is probably best he just takes off and slides before contact.

I also think he has been less willing to take check downs. Holding onto the ball longer in hopes of plays developing downfield, but the pass protection is not always abiding by this and there is a very thin line of time when you pass up on the easy completions the defense is conceding. There is a big importance to connecting on those short passes when a defense is barely even covering them. It changes how they have to cover and opens up the bigger stuff later on. Which leads me to the next point...

Trust issues. I think JD5 has a severe lack of trust with a lot of the players on the field right now. Remember last season through two weeks the whispers about his lack of willingness to throw downfield to Terry already started, but reports were Terry talked to him before the Bengals game and said he could trust him, throw him the ball and he will go get it, and from that point on they had a consistent chemistry on the field. Now this season the WR core hasn't been healthy for any extended amount of games. Ertz, Lane, and everyone else drops half the passes thrown to them. Eckler who has a huge safety valve option in the short passing game is not there etc etc....the run game has regressed since beginning of the season, the O-line is constantly being shuffled etc etc....

This is still a second year QB we are talking about here. A lot of it isn't due to a lack of abilities on his part.

 

[Miles Monroe]

Interesting. This story says two think I had not heard:

1. Jayden had surgery. I don’t think that is true, but surely they put his arm joint back together, so maybe that is what was meant.
2. Wagner left immediately after the game to see him. They seem to be good friends, and I’m sure Bobby is a good mentor. It is great to see stuff like this, DQ has done a good job building that kind of culture here.

I tend to agree he hasn't had surgery. That being said, it wouldn't be the first time a player has surgery, and the team doesn't make it public right away. Nothing saying they have to as far as I know. My concern is the damage to the joint even without a fracture. Ya, it's his non throwing arm, but it still needs to be strong and fluid. Unfortunately I'm the king of dislocations. Many, many, many more than I care to remember. I know what it does to muscles, tendons, an ligaments.

 

[Miles Monroe]

Not to mention that the article stated that Wagner “left Lumen Field and headed straight to Harborview Medical Center, where Daniels was being prepped for emergency surgery on his broken arm.”

Both are located in Seattle. And there has been zero reporting anywhere else that Jayden suffered a broken arm or has surgery performed.

How I didn't catch that is beyond me. Now I really have to wonder how much of the story is real at all.

 

[AngryChuckT]

How I didn't catch that is beyond me. Now I really have to wonder how much of the story is real at all.

It is not real at all. FB in particular is now mostly fake AI spam stories. If it is not coming from a traditional outlet like ESPN or Fox there is a good chance it is an AI fake.

 

[Faithful Fan]

It is not real at all. FB in particular is now mostly fake AI spam stories. If it is not coming from a traditional outlet like ESPN or Fox there is a good chance it is an AI fake.

Should have known, that story definitely smelled fishy.

 

[DieselPwr44]

I would have to go back and look, but I can only remember 2 called runs for Daniels last night. All the rest were scrambles.

I am doing this from memory. I might be wrong, but I don’t think the number of called runs was more than 5, and that’s even 3 more than I actually remember.

Daniels ran a bunch because literally nobody was open. So he scrambled and got positive yards. And they couldn’t run the ball worth a damn with RBs. Which is why they were at least attempting to throw the ball.

Let’s say our starting WRs last night were Deebo, McCaffery and Lane, with Burk and Moore as the primary backups.

Would any of those players except for Deebo start for any of the top 5 college football programs right now? Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia. I’d say it would be unlikely.

That’s the level of WR talent we’re putting out on the field at the moment. Our WR corps couldn’t break a good college team lineup.

Now, if McLaurin, Deebo and Brown were healthy, that combination would start for a by of those teams.

We don’t have players. It’s nobody’s fault. But it’s a fact. There are no answers because if it.

Punt
PLAYS9YDS27TTL TIME3:49

0

0

• Kickoff from SEA 35
  
  Kickoff — J.Myers kicks 58 yards from SEA 35 to WAS 7. L.McCaffrey to WAS 26 for 19 yards (M.Morris).
• 3 Yard Run
  
  1st & 10 at WAS 26
  14:55 1st Shotgun — J.Daniels scrambles left tackle to WAS 29 for 3 yards (L.Williams).
• 3 Yard Run
  
  2nd & 7 at WAS 29
  14:25 1st No Huddle, Shotgun — J.Daniels scrambles left guard to WAS 32 for 3 yards (U.Nwosu).
• 9 Yard Pass
  
  3rd & 4 at WAS 32
  13:45 1st No Huddle, Shotgun — J.Daniels pass short right to Z.Ertz to WAS 41 for 9 yards (J.Jobe).
• Pass Incomplete
  
  1st & 10 at WAS 41
  13:02 1st No Huddle — J.Daniels pass incomplete short right to J.Bates (D.Thomas).
• -15 Yard Penalty
  
  2nd & 10 at WAS 41
  12:55 1st No Huddle, Shotgun — J.Daniels pass short left to D.Samuel to WAS 44 for 3 yards (E.Jones). PENALTY on WAS-T.Biadasz, Illegal Blindside Block, 15 yards, enforced at WAS 41 - No Play.
• 4 Yard Run
  
  2nd & 25 at WAS 26
  12:41 1st No Huddle, Shotgun — J.Daniels scrambles right end pushed ob at WAS 30 for 4 yards (N.Emmanwori).
• 8 Yard Pass
  
  3rd & 21 at WAS 30
  11:58 1st No Huddle, Shotgun — J.Daniels pass short middle to Z.Ertz to WAS 38 for 8 yards (D.Witherspoon).
• Punt
  
  4th & 13 at WAS 38
  11:18 1st — T.Way punts 52 yards to SEA 10, Center-T.Ott, fair catch by T.Horton.

Not one hand off to a back in the first possession.

One can say "Well,Seattle has one of the top run defenses in the league" Does that mean you don't try?

Or you could say "Our Qb is just coming back from injury maybe we should put more emphasis on our run game to protect him?

Is Kliff trying to get him killed?

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

One can say "Well,Seattle has one of the top run defenses in the league" Does that mean you don't try?

Quite frankly, yes. Because if you have 8 or 9 in the box, you're going to waste a down and get into a known passing situation and you're dead.

As it was, the drive was working until the Biadacz penalty derailed it.

You were down on Kliff last season when almost nobody was. I get that you're still down on him. Which is fine.

However, even if you just exclude the JD5 runs, whether designed or scrambles, we ended up with more rushing attempts than passing attempts for the game. We had 22 pass attempts and 26 rushing attempts. Even if you add all the Daniels rushes as scrambles, that's 32 pass attempts vs. 26 rush attempts.

I haven't gone through to figure out how many of Daniels' rush attempts were called vs. scrambles, but I think in the end, we might have ended up somewhere almost exactly at 50/50 called run vs. called pass.

 

[Ghost of Sarge]

It is not real at all. FB in particular is now mostly fake AI spam stories. If it is not coming from a traditional outlet like ESPN or Fox there is a good chance it is an AI fake.

Facebook has a story now about Jaydens Mom being given a job with the team so she could be around him during his recovery

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

Facebook has a story now about Jaydens Mom being given a job with the team so she could be around him during his recovery

Why would they need to give her a job for him to be around Jayden during his recovery?

And a google search did not turn up any evidence of this.

Maybe fake facebook news?

 

[Die Hard]

Now I didn't watch All-22 replay of the game like some members here. 😉

But the narrative of the members who have seems to be that our receivers aren’t getting separation… or Jayden’s not trusting his receivers.

Here’s Kurt Warner essentially debunking that nonsense:



And in a lot of those videos… Deebo or the backs were consistently open… are we gonna say that Jayden doesnt trust them either now?

Jayden’s simply not processing the game as well as he was last year. And that’s ok with me. But the bending over backwards to convince others that Jayden is without culpability and infallible is absurd.

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

Now I didn't watch All-22 replay of the game like some members here. 😉

But the narrative of the members who have seems to be that our receivers aren’t getting separation… or Jayden’s not trusting his receivers.

Here’s Kurt Warner essentially debunking that nonsense:



And in a lot of those videos… Deebo or the backs were consistently open… are we gonna say that Jayden doesnt trust them either now?

Jayden’s simply not processing the game as well as he was last year. And that’s ok with me. But the bending over backwards to convince others that Jayden is without culpability and infallible is absurd.

I have thought this was possible for a while too.
The question in my mind is, do Pritchard or Kingsbury deserve any blame for this? I think we have a problem with our coaches' ability to self-critique and hold each other accountable... again.
Personally I think Donatell is number one on my chopping block (granted, limited vantage point, but I can't imagine a world where our DB coach is doing much good at all here, too many PIs across way too many players at this point, and when you watch it, you see clear technique issues again across so many players). After him, I do wonder about Pritchard and Kingsbury; my issue here is Jayden seems very teachable. Is that not true? I really think it is, and in that case, someone has to wake up and have that conversation with him.

Problems have to be recognized and fixed. It doesn't seem like that happens in terms of in-game adjustments or week-to-week adjustments. That's highly disturbing; some of these issues have existed for a long time.

One of the reasons I point to coaching is also that when we talk about slower "processing" in year-2, sometimes it can boil down to specific techniques and disguises that work well against a particular QB. Coaches need to help their QB understand and process what the opposition is doing.

I can tell you, being at the SEA game with great seats (got super lucky), Kingsbury didn't do any such thing for the time I was watching (and I did see Jayden and Kingsbury for much of the game, they were very close by most of the time). This isn't some bias, it's just direct observation.

 

[Dlts20]

The crazy thing is that people are comparing Jayden to RG3 and saying that it's not fair to Jayden but in some ways you can argue that it's really not fair to RG3. RG3 had one catastrophic injury. In some ways that is more understandable. Other than that, he took a beating and always got up.

Jayden has had 4 separate injuries and this season it's starting to look like a struggle for him to finish every game. I called for DQ to take Jayden out but I'm also not going to fully blame him. It's like we are starting to have to treat Jayden with kid gloves and that's a headache. I'm not even a dolphins fan and it bothered me how much Tua was a threat to get hurt on every play. Jayden is starting to be the same.

Hes only going to end up playing 6 games this season. He got hurt in 3 of them, all with different injuries. He didn't finish 2 of the 6 and probably shouldn't have finished the packers game. In the 3 games he didn't get hurt, he was clearly playing limited in 2 of them with a brace on.Basically he was playing hurt in every single game after the first game. That has to change next year

 

[Dlts20]

Now I didn't watch All-22 replay of the game like some members here. 😉

But the narrative of the members who have seems to be that our receivers aren’t getting separation… or Jayden’s not trusting his receivers.

Here’s Kurt Warner essentially debunking that nonsense:



And in a lot of those videos… Deebo or the backs were consistently open… are we gonna say that Jayden doesnt trust them either now?

Jayden’s simply not processing the game as well as he was last year. And that’s ok with me. But the bending over backwards to convince others that Jayden is without culpability and infallible is absurd.

Well I know that he definitely didn't see a wide open lane on that TD and it's clear that he seemed extremely panic and ready to instantly take off running a lot recently.

The thing that people aren't talking enough about is the injuries and the hits starting to effect him and make him gun shy. Mariota is actually processing the passes and runs more consistently right now.

Even worse this season is that when he has been great at processing, he's not nearly as accurate as last season. He's missed more throws this year than he had all of last year and that's even with the games he's missed this year. It's disappointing.

However, we had a lot of issues going on around him. We just need to regroup as a whole next year but I do want 3 established receivers around him and a te with speed next season

 

[DieselPwr44]

And in a lot of those videos… Deebo or the backs were consistently open… are we gonna say that Jayden doesnt trust them either now?

Jayden’s simply not processing the game as well as he was last year. And that’s ok with me. But the bending over backwards to convince others that Jayden is without culpability and infallible is absurd.

5 had a rookie season for the ages last year which led alot of fans to presume that he had arrived, the QB position was set for the next decade and they'd be perennial contenders from here on out. Hell, fans had them penciled in as Superbowl contenders this year!

When I suggested last season that you might want to wait and see if he's still here in a couple of years, I was roundly scoffed at and mocked by many here. He's not even playing up to his 2024 level even when he's healthy...which nowadays, seems rare.
When a rookie QB bursts onto the scene like 5, the league takes notice and opposing teams take an off-season to study and dissect his game and that's one factor in his performance.
Secondly, when your OC depends on your legs for a running game more than any back on the roster, the hits pile up and that has an effect also.
And maybe some of the hype 5's received in the off-season led to some arrogance that led him to believe he could just go create a big play anytime he wanted to.

I understand why fans were so giddy with the first taste of success in a long time last year. But I never could understand losing your head over 5 last season.
Long time Skins fans should know better. We've seen too many QB prospects flame out over the last 30 years to all of a sudden proclaim "He's here!" after one season.

Does 5 still have a chance to develop into a franchise Qb? Yes

But this team is not out of the woods with 5 either. Adam Peters and Dan Quinn are going to have to take a measurable step forward this off-season, some how, some way, to make that possible.
Part of that step too is 5 humbling himself and re-focusing on getting better. Joe Gibbs used to say something to the effect that when you feel like your invincible in this league, there's always a knuckle sandwich waiting around the corner.

I feel like that's what this team and 5 are going through right now.

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

Now I didn't watch All-22 replay of the game like some members here. 😉

But the narrative of the members who have seems to be that our receivers aren’t getting separation… or Jayden’s not trusting his receivers.

Here’s Kurt Warner essentially debunking that nonsense:



And in a lot of those videos… Deebo or the backs were consistently open… are we gonna say that Jayden doesnt trust them either now?

Jayden’s simply not processing the game as well as he was last year. And that’s ok with me. But the bending over backwards to convince others that Jayden is without culpability and infallible is absurd.

Thanks for providing that video. I used it in a similar debate I'm having on another board. I'm not sure why so many fans are afraid to admit that Jayden's play has certainly dropped off from last season.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

He definitely has not played as well this year as last. Maybe that’s asking too much since last year was so great. But it’s been a step back. Someone earlier mentioned comfortability. That’s with both his receiving options as well as his line. He’s never looked comfortable in any game, and that’s a big departure from last year as well. I don't know the reason, but on some plays, he’s looking right and the receivers are mostly on the right and the defense is on the right and there is no where to go. Had he looked left, he would find an open receiver. Is that the play design, him not recognizing the defense, the defense knowing in this look the ball is going this way and jumping that? I’m guessing it’s some of all of that. But this season just never got on track and it looks like it never will. It sucks all around but hopefully he and the coaches can learn from this.

 

[Chris]

Jayden has seemed sped up for much of his play this season, like he’s reverting to instinctual play far too quickly. I don’t know the exact reason why but he is either not seeing the field the same or not trusting what he sees. To me he appears uncomfortable and is often too quick to try and make a play on his own. I have no idea why, because there are so many factors to take into account, but fixing it is obviously a major need going into 2026.

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

He definitely has not played as well this year as last. Maybe that’s asking too much since last year was so great. But it’s been a step back. Someone earlier mentioned comfortability. That’s with both his receiving options as well as his line. He’s never looked comfortable in any game, and that’s a big departure from last year as well. I don't know the reason, but on some plays, he’s looking right and the receivers are mostly on the right and the defense is on the right and there is no where to go. Had he looked left, he would find an open receiver. Is that the play design, him not recognizing the defense, the defense knowing in this look the ball is going this way and jumping that? I’m guessing it’s some of all of that. But this season just never got on track and it looks like it never will. It sucks all around but hopefully he and the coaches can learn from this.

Jayden has seemed sped up for much of his play this season, like he’s reverting to instinctual play far too quickly. I don’t know the exact reason why but he is either not seeing the field the same or not trusting what he sees. To me he appears uncomfortable and is often too quick to try and make a play on his own. I have no idea why, because there are so many factors to take into account, but fixing it is obviously a major need going into 2026.

Agree 100% with both of these posts. I am disturbed by Pritchard and Kingsbury if they don't see the same problems showing up over...and over... and over. Still trying to do the same things without any change. This isn't even a complaint about the scheme's preference to passing, this is about adapting to fix something that is broken.

They would have the context to fill in the blanks we don't have. We see the same things happening again and again, maddening as a fan to watch that. I'm not saying it's easy, but frankly it's the NFL; it's not supposed to be easy. If they think it should be, they truly have the wrong job.

**I am also not saying any particular cause here; I am saying the coaches need to help their player, if the player is truly teachable. One of Jayden's superpowers is supposed to be his teachability. It doesn't seem to be in use right now.

I will just say this, in terms of figuring out causes. Eberflus was ECSTATIC during and after the game against us. It was *WIDELY* reported that they had prepared for specific tendencies and felt extremely confident going into the game. That bore out. The Dallas defense has had a very bad year. That game was probably EASILY their best game of the year - it's not really close, I believe. So, I would say there are some very strong data points that say DCs have adapted to the scheme is one factor. Not pointing fingers, just looking at real observables.

 

[Chris]

I’m not convinced yet that Jayden’ performance issues are primarily scheme, tendencies, or coaching strategies etc. I think that Jayden may be seeing ghosts (real or imagined) and sort of ‘coming back to Mama’, reverting to a DNA-like instinct to say “fuck this, I’m outta here”. The psychology of an athlete is a sticky wicket. But, it is highly dependent on situational confidence and I don’t, at this point, see a confident QB. Confident athlete- yes. Confident QB- no. Those are two completely different beasts.

Jayden is an intelligent, committed, and physically gifted athlete. I have no doubts that he will overcome this.