Jayden Daniels

Jayden Daniels Bio

Jayden Daniels is an American professional football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). Born in Fontana, California, on December 18, 2000, Daniels rose to prominence as a quarterback at Cajon High School before playing college football at Arizona State and later Louisiana State University. He won the Heisman Trophy in 2023 after a remarkable season at LSU, where he led the nation in total yards and set the single-season passer rating record. Drafted second overall by the Commanders in the 2024 NFL Draft, Daniels had an impressive rookie season, earning both Offensive Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowl honors while leading Washington to their most wins since 1991 and the first NFC Championship Game appearance in over three decades.

Early Life and Background

Daniels was born in Fontana, California, on December 18, 2000, and raised in nearby San Bernardino. His father, Javon “Jay” Daniels, played college football as a cornerback for the Washington Huskies and Iowa State Cyclones in the late 1990s. His mother, Regina Jackson, works as Daniels’ business manager and agent. Daniels began playing flag football as a cornerback at age five in 2006 and transitioned to quarterback in Pop Warner tackle football in 2008. He also ran track and played basketball and soccer as a youth before starting his freshman year at Cajon High School in 2015.

Daniels initially needed a medical note to play at Cajon due to being considered undersized by the team’s coach at 125 pounds. He started on the varsity team as a freshman and led the team to the 2015 CIF Southern Section Inland Division semifinals. He broke the little finger of his right hand attempting to recover a fumble in the first game of his 2016 sophomore season but continued playing the rest of the year. Daniels set a state record in 2017 with over 6,400 total yards in his junior season, leading Cajon to a Citrus Belt League championship and an appearance in the Division 2-AA state finals. He received the Ken Hubbs Award as the top high school athlete in the San Bernardino area during his senior year in 2018.

Path to American Football

Daniels played 53 games at Cajon High School and set CIF-SS records with 210 touchdowns and over 17,600 total yards. He participated in hurdling and the 100-meters, 200-meters, 400-meters, and 4 × 100-meters relay sprints. He participated in the 2018 Elite 11 quarterback skills competition and threw the game-winning touchdown in the 2019 Under Armour High School All-America Game. Daniels was ranked a four-star prospect and the top dual-threat quarterback of his class by 247Sports and received 25 college football scholarship offers before choosing Arizona State University in December 2018. He graduated from Cajon and enrolled at ASU in January 2019.

Jayden Daniels Career

Arizona State (2019–2021)

Daniels was named the starter for the Sun Devils’ 2019 season after winning a quarterback competition against Joey Yellen in the offseason. He was the first Sun Devils freshman quarterback to start opening week. He earned Pac-12 Conference offensive player of the week honors for week 13 in a 31–28 upset win over the No. 6 ranked Oregon Ducks after passing for 408 yards and three touchdowns, including an 81-yard pass to Brandon Aiyuk with under four minutes remaining. Daniels was named the most valuable player of the 2019 Sun Bowl in a win over the Florida State Seminoles. He set the Sun Devils’ freshman passing yards record and was named to ESPN’s freshman All-American team.

In the 2020 season, Daniels and the Sun Devils played only four games because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He earned offensive player of the week honors against UCLA in week 5 of the 2021 season with two touchdown passes to Ricky Pearsall of over 50 yards. He led the Pac-12 in completion percentage (65.4%) for the season and guided the team to an 8–4 record and an appearance in the 2021 Las Vegas Bowl. After the season, several coaches resigned or were fired following an NCAA investigation into COVID guideline violations. Daniels entered the NCAA transfer portal in February 2022.

LSU Breakthrough (2022–2023)

Daniels transferred to Louisiana State University (LSU) in March 2022 to play for the Tigers. He competed with Garrett Nussmeier and Myles Brennan in camp and was named the starter for the 2022 season. In October, Daniels threw two touchdowns and ran for over 100 yards and three touchdowns in a win against No. 7 ranked Ole Miss, earning SEC offensive player of the week honors. He earned another player of the week honor against the No. 6 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide the following game after running for a 25-yard touchdown with a two-point conversion pass in overtime to win 32–31. He led the Tigers to a 9–3 regular season record and an appearance in the 2022 SEC Championship Game against the No. 1 ranked Georgia Bulldogs. Daniels finished the 2022 season with 28 touchdowns and led the team in rushing yards, earning Davey O’Brien Award semifinalist honors and team MVP.

Daniels was named one of the team captains prior to the 2023 season. He earned SEC offensive player of the week honors multiple times throughout the season against Mississippi State, Arkansas, Missouri, and others. He became the first player in NCAA FBS history to have 350 passing and 200 rushing yards in a game against Florida. He tied an SEC record against Georgia State with eight total touchdowns. For the season, Daniels threw 40 touchdowns and rushed for 10, led the team in rushing yards, and led the NCAA with nearly 5,000 total yards while setting the FBS single-season passer rating record. His performance earned him the 2023 Heisman Trophy, making him the third LSU player to win the award after Billy Cannon in 1959 and Joe Burrow in 2019.

Washington Commanders Era (2024–Present)

Daniels was selected second overall by the Washington Commanders in the 2024 NFL Draft. He was the second of six quarterbacks taken in the first round, tying the 1983 draft for the most in NFL history. He acquired uniform number 5 in a non-monetary arrangement with Tress Way, who had worn it with the team since 2014. Daniels signed his four-year rookie contract, worth $37.75 million fully guaranteed, on June 14, 2024. He was named the Commanders’ starting quarterback by the end of training camp.

Daniels scored two touchdowns in his NFL debut in a loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with his first win occurring the following week against the New York Giants. In a week 3 win against the Cincinnati Bengals, he earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors after scoring three touchdowns and setting the NFL rookie completion percentage record (91.3%). He was later named the Offensive Rookie of the Month for September after completing the highest percentage of passes (82.1%) over a four-game span in NFL history. Daniels suffered a rib fracture against the Carolina Panthers in October but returned the following week against the Chicago Bears and threw a 52-yard Hail Mary touchdown as time expired to wide receiver Noah Brown to win 18–15. The play, dubbed the Hail Maryland, was later named the Moment of the Year at the 14th NFL Honors award ceremony.

Daniels finished the regular season having the most points per game (28.5) and highest completion percentage (69%) by a rookie in NFL history. He additionally set the NFL rookie quarterback rushing yards record (891) and the Commanders rookie passing yards record (3,568). He also threw a rookie-record 12 touchdown passes in the fourth quarter or overtime. The Commanders finished with a regular season record of 12–5, their best since 1991, and entered the 2024–25 playoffs as a sixth-seed Wild Card. The team broke their 19-year postseason win drought with road victories over the Buccaneers and Detroit Lions before losing to the eventual Super Bowl LIX champion Eagles in the NFC Championship Game. Daniels was named the Offensive Rookie of the Year and a Pro Bowl reserve. He ranked 21st on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2025, a list voted on by NFL players following the season.

Driving Style and Strengths

Regarded as a dual-threat quarterback, Daniels is noted for having the combination of a drop-back passer’s field awareness and accuracy with the speed and elusiveness to evade defenders on scrambles and keeper runs. His calm demeanor and composure in games, particularly in late-game and critical situations, are also regarded as strengths. Daniels’ physique is described as “lanky” at 6 feet 4 inches tall and around 210 pounds. He uses virtual reality (VR) as part of his training with VR headset software allowing for custom formations and plays. Daniels often warms up before games with a basketball, a routine learned from childhood friend and fellow NFL quarterback C. J. Stroud, citing it as helpful preparation with footballs feeling smaller and lighter afterwards.

Jayden Daniels Career Wins

Daniels has accumulated significant victories across high school, college, and professional levels throughout his football career. His most notable accomplishments include winning the Heisman Trophy at LSU and leading the Washington Commanders to their first playoff wins in nearly two decades during his rookie season.

LSU Highlights

At LSU, Daniels won the 2023 Heisman Trophy after one of the most prolific seasons in college football history. He led the NCAA with nearly 5,000 total yards and set the FBS single-season passer rating record. He also won the Walter Camp Award, Davey O’Brien Award, Manning Award, and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, all in 2023. He earned Consensus All-American and First-team All-SEC honors. Daniels led the Tigers to an SEC Championship Game appearance and a 63–7 victory in the 2023 Citrus Bowl against Purdue.

Other Wins and Performances

At Arizona State, Daniels was named the MVP of the 2019 Sun Bowl in a win over Florida State. He was the first Sun Devils freshman quarterback to start opening week and set the school’s freshman passing yards record. In high school at Cajon, he led the team to back-to-back Citrus Belt League championships and set CIF-SS records with 210 touchdowns and over 17,600 total yards. At the professional level, Daniels led the Commanders to a 12–5 regular season record and playoff victories over Tampa Bay and Detroit in 2024.

Jayden Daniels Family

Family Background and Racing Lineage

Daniels was born to Javon “Jay” Daniels, a college football cornerback for the Washington Huskies and Iowa State Cyclones in the late 1990s, and Regina Jackson, who works as Daniels’ business manager and agent. He has an older sister named Bianca. Daniels’ paternal grandparents died of COVID-19 in early 2021. He is the first starting NFL quarterback with Japanese ancestry since Arthur Matsu in 1928, taking after his maternal great-grandmother.

Personal Life

Daniels is Christian. He earned a degree in business communications from Arizona State in December 2021 and pursued a Master of Liberal Arts degree at LSU. He was presented with a key to the city by San Bernardino mayor Helen Tran on January 20, 2024, who declared the day “Jayden Daniels Day” and dedicated Cajon High School’s football stadium after him. Daniels has name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals with Raising Cane’s, Powerade, Beats by Dre, and Urban Outfitters. He was featured on The Money Game: LSU, a six-part NIL-focused docuseries by Prime Video. Daniels threw the ceremonial first pitch at a Washington Nationals baseball game in June 2024. He presented the Best Play Award at the 2024 ESPYs where he also accepted the Best College Athlete, Men’s Sports award.

2025 Season Performance

Following a season-opening win over the New York Giants, Daniels suffered a left knee sprain in a week 2 loss to the Green Bay Packers that kept him out of subsequent games against the Las Vegas Raiders and Atlanta Falcons. He returned in week 5 against the Los Angeles Chargers before suffering a right hamstring strain against the Dallas Cowboys in week 7, leading him to miss the following game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Daniels returned against the Seattle Seahawks in week 9 before suffering a dislocated left elbow on a sack late in the game. The coaching decision to keep playing Daniels down 38–7 against the Seahawks late in the fourth quarter, in which he had already taken several hits, faced criticism.

Daniels returned against the Minnesota Vikings in week 14 but left in the second half following an interception and landing on his elbow after being pushed. He was later ruled out for the remainder of the season, missing ten games in total with the team finishing with a record of 5–12. The season drew comparisons to former Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III, another second overall pick of the team who had his career stunted by injuries after a promising 2012 rookie season. Despite the injury-plagued year, Daniels remains a foundational piece for the Commanders’ future as they look to build around their dual-threat quarterback.