A film session breaking down Jayden Daniels’ processing ability in his Commanders’ debut
In his latest presser, Commanders’ head coach Dan Quinn acknowledged the room for growth in his rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, who ran the ball 16 times in his debut. While it is not ideal to run 16 times in a game, his explosive ability flashed several times in a few of his runs, and his legs showed to be the only offense that Washington had against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Alternatively, from a growth standpoint, it is the hope that Daniels transitions into a pass-first quarterback and takes advantage of opportunities downfield.
In this film session, we will examine Daniels’ ability to process pressure and coverage against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in some moments.
As mentioned previously, Daniels’ scrambling ability creates a significant advantage for the Commanders’ offense. His legs allow him to extend drives and even make him a scoring threat from any area of the football field. If there is instant pressure on Daniels, defenders will need to finish in the backfield, or he will make that defense pay.
Washington faced a 2nd and eight on this particular play. Tampa Bay ran Cover 1 against Washington in this play and brought down safety Antoine Winfield Jr. to check running back Austin Ekeler out of the backfield. For rookie LT Brandon Coleman, his pre-snap concern, based on Winfield’s alignment, was to pick up the blitz threat as he expected inside help. However, post-snap, Winfield’s first step simulated a blitz, but he was manned up on Ekeler. Winfield’s simulated pressure vacated Coleman from the intended blitz gap for linebacker K.J. Britt to exploit. Jayden Daniels immediately recognized the pressure and successfully avoided Britt, picking up 16 yards.
One of the more interesting personnel looks is how Kliff Kingsbury utilized 12 (one running back / two tight ends) personnel on Sunday. It kept Tampa Bay in its base defense and allowed Kingsbury to exploit matchups in isolation.
Washington faced a 1st and 10 on this play and utilized 12 personnel from a trips alignment. Tight end Zach Ertz was detached from the formation while John Bates was in-line. The Commanders faced another man look from the Buccaneers on this rep, which created an opportunity for Daniels to target receiver Terry McLaurin on a slot fade if the single-high safety remains along the boundary side of the field.
However, cornerback Bryce Hall played the fade well. McLaurin could not gain a step on Hall and was driven to the sideline. The quarterback should target the fade route eight times out of ten, especially in a true one-on-one situation, as presented in the play. Unfortunately, McLaurin did not win, but the post-snap processing from Daniels in this instance was sound. Ertz and receiver Luke McCaffrey, who runs underneath McLaurin’s fade, are open, but based on Daniels’ dropback, the play was run exactly how Kingsbury wanted it run.
Most of the time, NFL throwing windows won’t be as glaringly open as at the college level. Over time, Daniels will understand what open looks like on the NFL level.
The next play after McLaurin’s fade, Washington faced a 2nd and 10. Tampa Bay faced an inverted Cover 2; Washington utilized 11 personnel, with Ertz aligned in-line. Ertz used his route savvy to create separation at the breakpoint, head-faking outside before quickly winning and settling inside the void linebacker Lavonte David created. His elite scrambling ability took over again, creating a 12-yard gain after he missed the throwing window on the first level.
The opening drive out of the second half for Washington presented a couple of scoring opportunities for Terry McLaurin. The most talked about was Jayden Daniels overthrowing Terry McLaurin on a Go-route along the sideline that would have gone for a touchdown.
Another instance was four plays later when McLaurin had another opportunity across the middle of the field. Washington faced a 2nd and 5 on this play, utilizing 12 personnel with both tight ends in-line this time. Daniels motions McLaurin from the boundary into the slot on the fieldside. McLaurin, who runs a deep Over route, creates instant separation and is not accounted for by the single-high safety. Unfortunately, Daniels’ does not pull the trigger, but more importantly, does not appear to see him. Daniels extended the drive on this play, scrambling for 11 yards, but two scoring opportunities were missed.
For the most part, Daniels did a really good job protecting the football Sunday and was sacked just twice. However, one sack could have been avoided, and hopefully, with time and development, he will be able to process pressure quicker as the weeks move on.
Washington’s opening drive out of the half takes a significant hit after this 2nd and 8. Washington motions Ekeler out wide in an empty formation. Tampa Bay blitzes David from the second level, leaving a void in the middle of the field in their Cover 1 pressure. While Ertz and McCaffrey are open instantly, and Ertz should have been his hot man, it appears that Daniels’ initial progression took him toward the sideline. Fortunately, both Olamide Zaccheaus and Austin Ekeler separated instantly, and Daniels had an opportunity to get rid of the football before the pocket collapsed.
You can watch the full YouTube version as well below. Be sure to like, subscribe, and comment your thoughts.