‘Living off the success of his rookie season’: Former NFL star does not hold back on Jayden Daniels

In a Monday night showdown between the Washington Commanders and the San Francisco 49ers, the game was left to third-year quarterback Jayden Daniels of the Commanders to lead his team to victory late again. However, the 49ers maintained their lead and ultimately defeated the Commanders 23-17. Daniels has been dealing with an injury since Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys, when he dislocated his left elbow for the second time in his professional career. After a two-week absence, the QB returned to the field with a full arm brace, but spectators question whether his injury history is leading the Commanders’ 2024 top draft pick down the wrong path. ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith didn’t hold back in September when he compared Daniels to Washington’s 2012-2015 QB Robert Griffin III, whose career was haunted by injury and ended early. “I feel bad for the Washington Commanders fanbase. This is RG3 written all over again,” Smith said . “Former No. 2 overall pick, offense rookie of the year…dual threat, slender build, and you’ve incurred these injuries.” Recently, former NFL star and FS1 analyst Emmanuel Acho took to his YouTube podcast, Speakeasy , and addressed Daniels’ lackluster performance against the 49ers on Monday night. Acho compared Daniels to Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who has also had a rough start to the season. “Jayden Daniels is simply a melanated Justin Herbert,” Acho said . “Jayden Daniels is living off the wild success of his rookie season. Justin Herbert rookie season: 35 touchdowns; we’ve never seen anything like it. Justin Herbert, like a kite, was able to glide for years off of that rookie season. Jayden Daniels’ rookie season, NFC Championship Game, we hadn’t truly seen anything like it. And for the last 18 months now, Jayden Daniels has been gliding off the success of that rookie campaign. But eventually the wind has to stop blowing, and we have to realize what the hell is going on. “Jayden Daniels was as unimpressive today as he was impressive. He missed as many throws as he did indeed make; he made as many bad decisions as he made quality decisions. How do you throw the ball away on 4th and 2, and with the game on the line, you take a sack? Somebody has to make it make sense. When I see Jayden Daniels, I see Justin Herbert with a tan. When I see Jayden Daniels, I see Justin Herbert; that’s what I see right now. It’s frustrating.” Daniels showed flashes of being the dominant passer we saw in 2024, but eventually faded as the clock drained. On paper, his stats look noteworthy, but results have become the topic of conversation lately. Daniels finished with 300 yards and two touchdowns, completing nearly 73% of his passes Monday night, but the Commanders still fell to 1-4-1 after the loss. The post ‘Living off the success of his rookie season’: Former NFL star does not hold back on Jayden Daniels appeared first on The Comeback: Today’s Top Sports Stories & Reactions .