When the Houston Texans went from worst to first last year, it’s reasonable to ask which team can have a similar turnaround in 2024.
There is no better comparison than the Washington Commanders. Houston went 3-13-1 in 2022, fired its head coach, drafted a quarterback at No. 2 overall last year and won the AFC South with a 10-7 record.
That quarterback, C.J. Stroud, was phenomenal. Stroud made the Pro Bowl and won the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award. He passed for 274 yards and three touchdowns in an AFC Wild Card win over the Cleveland Browns and finished just short of a perfect passer rating.
Replicating Stroud’s success seems unlikely, but Washington is in a unique position. The Commanders finished 4-13 last season, have a new head coach, and selected a quarterback at No. 2 overall: LSU’s Jayden Daniels. Daniels had an unbelievable final college season that saw him win the Heisman Trophy.
While Daniels is known for his dual-threat ability, with some comparing him to Lamar Jackson, he’s more advanced as a passer coming out of college than Jackson.
Former NFL player and current analyst Bucky Brooks of the NFL Network believes Daniels will have a similar impact in 2024 as Stroud did in 2023.
“Absolutely, and I would expect it to be a very similar impact,” Brooks said when asked about Daniels in 2024.
“The reason why is (Washington OC) Kliff Kingsbury has done this before with a young quarterback. Look no further than the work he did with Kyler Murray when Kyler Murray came out of Oklahoma. Right away, Kyler Murray hits the ground running and wins the Offensive Rookie of the Year award, has over 3,500 passing yards, 500 rushing yards and 24 total TDs. I would expect to see that type of production and performance from Jayden Daniels. When you look at Jayden Daniels, he is an elite prospect when it comes to his arm talent and his athleticism. He can put it together whether he is working on the script, or off the script. You look at the talent surrounding him: Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, also with Austin Ekeler coming over to give them a threat out of the backfield with Zach Ertz.”
This isn’t the first time someone has said they can see a similar turnaround for Washington in 2024 as Houston did in 2023, mainly because of the quarterback situation.
If the Commanders are better offensively as most believe, you can best believe head coach Dan Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. will have the 32nd-ranked defense playing much better in 2024.
.@BuckyBrooks expects Jayden Daniels to have a similar impact as C.J. Stroud his rookie year
pic.twitter.com/HRgyaFVFvY
— NFL Total Access (@NFLTotalAccess) May 14, 2024