We’re just days away from the 2024 NFL Draft, and now there’s suddenly a lot more uncertainty surrounding the top of the draft order. The Washington Commanders, who hold the No. 2 overall pick, were previously believed to be zeroed in on selecting Jayden Daniels, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, but now that may not be the case.
Washington recently brought Daniels in for a workout, but it wasn’t exactly private. Instead, the Commanders opted to take a radical approach by essentially having Daniels compete with the other top quarterback prospects available with the second overall pick. This reportedly hasn’t gone over well in Daniels’ camp, who thought the Commanders already knew the LSU QB was head and shoulders above his peers on the talent/potential scale.
Jayden Daniels eyeing Las Vegas Raiders and Minnesota Vikings?
Now the rumors are heating up to the point that Daniels may not even want to play for the Commanders and would instead prefer to join teams he has connections to, such as the Las Vegas Raiders or Minnesota Vikings.
“It does feel like there is some smoke here. That’s sort of undeniable at this point. I spoke to somebody who’s involved in Daniels’ process who does openly wonder, is Daniels looking at his options right now? Now, he has had interest in playing for the Raiders, that is real. Staying on the West Coast, reuniting with Antonio Pierce from their Arizona State days, but they pick 13th. It’s going to be hard to make that sort of trade happen.
Intrigue in Minnesota as well. That’s not to say that he doesn’t have interest in playing for Washington eventually, I can not confirm that that’s any different.
But, as been’s told to me, this has not gone as smoothly as it should for a player who’s a viable candidate for the No. 2 pick. It should be sort of pretty clear at this point. Talking to people in Washington, they still expect that Daniels is a good candidate to be the pick here, it could very well happen, but there’s just a lot of smoke right now. I’ve reached out to his agency, I’ve been told there could be a statement at some point.”
From @SportsCenter
*Making sense of Jayden Daniels smoke around No. 2
*Patriots’ outlook at 3
*Penix stock
*Dak prepared for anything, contract talks slow pic.twitter.com/dRJ6iRcf2Z— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) April 20, 2024
The Raiders would make a lot of sense, being that Antonio Pierce is their head coach, and he knows Daniels well from their time together at Arizona State. Yet, in another sense, Daniels doesn’t make any sense for the Raiders since they have the 13th pick and don’t have nearly as much draft capital as some of their peers.
Would the Commanders really entertain an offer for the 13th pick, plus two future first-round selections? That doesn’t help them find their QB of the future this year, and the future picks won’t help Dan Quinn build a winning team in 2024, either.
Yet, the Vikings make even more sense for Daniels. No, there’s no strong coaching ties like he shares with Pierce, but they do have someone no one else does, in Justin Jefferson, a fellow LSU alum. Athletes from the same alma mater seem to have this unspoken bond, and being that both Jefferson and Daniels are elite talents, it’s hard to imagine the two not wanting to team up in the pros, even if they’ve never officially played together on the same team.
Plus, unlike the Raiders, the Vikings actually have the trade capital to pull off a blockbuster trade up to No. 2. Already boasting the 11th and 23rd picks (which could be used to move higher up the draft board), the Vikings can match the Raiders’ offer of including a first-round pick in 2025 too.
For either the Raiders or the Vikings, if Daniels is the QB that’s on top of their draft board, why shouldn’t they pay the price?
Related: After Shaky Visit in DC, is Jayden Daniels Trying to Force His Way to Vikings?
