How many first-round picks is Commanders' Jayden Daniels worth?
· Yahoo Sports
The Washington Commanders are entering the 2026 season with a big chip on their shoulders. After a run to the NFC Championship in 2024, en route to Jayden Daniels' Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, the Commanders won just five games in 2025. Injuries were a big factor in that, especially with Daniels only playing in seven games.
Daniels' injuries left a lot of questions around the quarterback's durability, so this season, he's out to prove that's not a problem. As he hasn't had a chance to prove that yet, it's not a huge surprise that ESPN's Bill Barnwell thinks Daniels is only worth three first-round picks in a trade, although how he viewed other quarterbacks comparatively is interesting.
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Three first-round picks and more: QB Jayden Daniels. It wasn't a banner year for Daniels, who dealt with multiple injuries amid a frustrating 2025 season for the Commanders. Optimists who saw an unflappable playmaker at LSU witnessed Daniels immediately revitalize a moribund Commanders franchise in 2024, but teams that were worried about Daniels' slight frame entering the draft were given further fuel for their fears last season.
Before we talk about this, let's share some context. Jordan Love and Fernando Mendoza were also in the three first-round picks category. Those worth four included Caleb Williams, Justin Herbert, and Joe Burrow. Drake Maye is supposedly worth six, while Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen remain in a category of their own at 7.
Most of that is accurate, but there are a few outliers; you can decide which ones they are. What we will not do is agree that Williams is worth more than Daniels, or that Maye is worth six. And we will not agree that Mendoza is worth the same number of picks as Daniels when he hasn't played a regular-season snap yet. Allen and Mahomes are unquestionably worth at least seven picks; there is no argument there.
This is the kind of fuel Daniels needs to keep him going this season, though. There is so much doubt around him heading into this season, but if he stays healthy and plays at least as well as he did in 2024, much of that doubt will fall away as the season wears on.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: How many first-round picks is Commanders' Jayden Daniels worth?