On the first day of the Washington Commanders’ mandatory minicamp, rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels flashed the running ability that General Manager Adam Peters once said “takes your soul as a defense.”
It was fourth and medium near midfield during a two-minute drill Tuesday in Ashburn. In the scenario, the Commanders trailed 21-20 and had to get into field goal range. Daniels rolled right, found a seam and picked up the first down. A few plays later, he walked off the field, having given his team the chance at a long field goal with two seconds left.
In the NFL, June heroics mean nothing. But that play and those like it are building confidence among Daniels’s teammates, several of whom lavished extensive praise on him Tuesday — including a lengthy soliloquy by wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who called Daniels “very charismatic,” “really personable,” “approachable,” “prepared,” “talented,” “humble” and “confident.”
“He’s going to be a really good player because of the time and the work that he puts in,” McLaurin said. “I don’t think I’ve had a young quarterback that really has come in and, within the first week, he’s like, ‘Hey, can we [practice] this route?’ or, ‘Let me get this rep after practice?’ It’s exciting for me because that opens the door [to communicate].”
Left guard Nick Allegretti said he has not been able to beat Daniels to the team facility despite arriving as early as 6:30 a.m.
“He’s around the facility a lot,” Allegretti said. “He’s talking and getting along with all the guys, but he’s not a super loud personality yet. He’s taking it in a way that I think a lot of rookies should — feeling it out, feeling what his role is, and then, when he’s on the field, stepping up in that leadership role.”
Even though teammates gas him up publicly, it seems they aren’t treating him differently internally. After Daniels bounced his ceremonial first pitch Sunday at Nationals Park, Coach Dan Quinn joked, “It’s a good thing he’s throwing here and not down at the ballpark.” Later Tuesday, Daniels fired several throws into pockets of a net from about 15 yards, and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury razzed, “Thanks for showing up today, 5!”
The Commanders’ spring philosophy is basically, “Let’s try stuff.” Coaches have put players in new roles and new positions: Emmanuel Forbes Jr. caught punts. Rookie quarterback-turned-wide receiver Luke McCaffrey practiced taking handoffs. Eleven players returned kicks, and at one point, the first-team linebackers paired with the fourth-string defensive backs.
“There’s still a lot of experimentation to go,” Quinn said. “The fits, the people, the techniques — that’s kind of what this is about. There’ll be some times when you may see, ‘Well, that wasn’t a good play or a good completion,’ but there’s still information to find out.”
There was a dizzying number of combinations at safety — Percy Butler, Quan Martin, Jeremy Chinn, Darrick Forrest and others — and some rotation on the offensive line, though Cornelius Lucas and Allegretti took most of first-team reps at left tackle and left guard. The most notable change: Daniels took nearly all of the starter’s reps at quarterback. In previous weeks, Marcus Mariota took most of them.
Before practice, Quinn said the Commanders want to test certain players in certain moments. During the two-minute drill, the wide receivers were Dyami Brown, Olamide Zaccheaus and Jahan Dotson.
Defensive tackle Johnny Newton is “hitting all the right markers” in his recovery, Quinn said. But the second-round draft pick rehabbing from a second foot surgery remains in a boot and on the sideline.
“He is able to do light working out,” Quinn said. “We will keep progressing all the way up until training camp. No decision has been made in terms of [whether he’ll participate at] the start of camp or not. We will take that week by week.”
Cue the kicker competition. After signing Ramiz Ahmed last week, the Commanders hosted free agents for a workout Tuesday morning, including 25-year-old Andre Szmyt, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Lucas Havrisik, 24, was at practice later in the day and also will compete Wednesday and Thursday, Quinn said. Jake Bates, 24, whose United Football League season recently ended, is expected to visit as well, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
None of the kickers have much experience. Ahmed, 28, is the oldest, and Havrisik is the only one who has attempted a field goal in an NFL game — in eight games with the Los Angeles Rams last season, he was 15 for 20 (and also went 19 for 22 on extra points).
“We will keep digging in over the next few days,” Quinn said.
Bob Myers, the adviser to managing partner Josh Harris, was at practice Tuesday. The former Golden State Warriors general manager spent most of the afternoon talking with Peters and former quarterback Joe Theismann.
