Why Jayden Daniels May Not Fall Into The 'sophomore Slump'

The Commanders are doing their job to avoid the “sophomore slump”.

The common belief is that when a quarterback plays well during his first NFL season, he will most of the time fall back into the league's fold. As a result, there is always talk of this “sophomore slump” for young NFL quarterbacks.

How does this apply to the Commanders’ Jayden Daniels?

Well, one thing overlooked in these discussions is the return of Commanders’ offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. Kingsbury was the perfect supervisor for the former LSU Heisman Trophy winner. His creativity, variety, and penchant for having Daniels get rid of the ball early paid off big time.

When Daniels was out two games, the offense did not seem to miss a beat, as veteran Marcus Mariota played quite well in wins against the Panthers and Cowboys. Despite the fact that the Commanders' running game was really hurting down the stretch, Kingsbury knew enough to keep the Commanders' offense moving the ball in playoff wins at Tampa Bay and Detroit.

Enter GM Adam Peters.

So what has Peters done this offseason to help Daniels and the offense?

Well, he traded for former 49ers WR Deebo Samuel and Texans LT Laremy Tunsil, drafted first-round Oregon tackle Josh Conerly Jr., and drafted versatile and explosive wide receiver Jaylin Lane.

As a result, the offensive line is now better in two positions, and Andrew Wylie, a starting tackle in 2024, can either go down to right guard and fill in for injured Sam Cosmi or become the swing tackle.

Daniels took care of the ball last season, resulting in a 25:9 TD-INT ratio. His QBR was 70.6, and his completion percentage was 69.0.

Perhaps the most critical element in why Daniels may not fall into the sophomore slump like many have is that Daniels showed up in Ashburn, realizing he was a rookie who needed to learn—a young quarterback who needed to work hard in weekly preparation for each game.

After all, there is no substitute for hard work.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Why Commanders QB Jayden Daniels will avoid the 'sophomore slump'