Commanders Jayden Daniels embarrasses Dak Prescott in PFF QB rankings for 2025 NFL season

The Washington Commanders believe they have found the next young NFL superstar QB, and ahead of the 2025 NFL season, the league and plenty of notable media outlets agree. 

After putting together the best rookie season in NFL history for a quarterback and leading the Commanders to a NFC Championship last season, Washington is slated for eight primetime matchups in 2025, tied with the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Daniels has suddenly become must-watch TV and his autograph, card and memorabilia prices aer higher than any other current player who isn’t Patrick Mahomes. 

There doesn’t seem to be a large consensus of average football fans and analysts who believe Daniels is going to drop in production in 2025, as many quarterbacks do in their second year in the NFL. 

Last season, Daniels threw for 3,568 yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions. His completion percentage of 69 percent was tied for fourth in the NFL. He finished the regular season with a passer rating of 100.1 and had 891 rushing yards, the most of any rookie in NFL history. 

He added another six touchdowns as a runner for the Commanders in the regular season. 

But all of the hype surrounding Daniels is likely centered on his ability to thrive in the biggest moments, a trait that only the greatest NFL quarterbacks have had in the history of the game. 

He was beyond clutch for the Commanders last season. Daniels set a rookie record with 12 touchdown passes in the fourth quarter or overtime, with five of those coming in the final 30 seconds of the game or overtime, the most of any player since the AFL and the NFL merged in 1970. He also set rookie records for passing yards, passing touchdowns and rushing yards in the playoffs, as he led Washington past Tampa Bay and Detroit to get to the NFC Championship. 

So heading into 2025, PFF — the leading website for advanced analytics for the NFL — ranked Daniels as  the No. 6 quarterback in the NFL behind only Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts. 

The Commanders second-year QB is ranked ahead of Matthew Stafford (No. 7), Justin Herbert (No. 8) and Jared Goff (No.9). He’s significantly ahead of Jordan Love (No. 12), Dak Prescott (No. 17) and Bo Nix (No. 19). 

Here’s what PFF said about Daniels in the 2025 rankings: 

 Perhaps we’re crowning Daniels a bit too early, as plenty of quarterbacks have had standout rookie seasons only to regress in Year 2. But what separates Daniels is his poise under pressure and in clutch moments late in the year. His rookie campaign was arguably the best we’ve ever seen, with his 90.6 overall grade marking the highest ever recorded by PFF for a rookie quarterback.