The thrill surrounding Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels appears to develop every week, and Monday night time’s efficiency in an exhilarating 38-33 win over the Bengals was probably the greatest ever by a rookie.
Daniels went 21-for-23 for 254 yards and two touchdowns, additionally main Washington with 39 dashing yards and one other rating. How uncommon is a passing recreation that correct? The 91.3% completion charge is the eighth-best for any recreation ever with 20-plus passes, and it is each an NFL rookie document and a Washington workforce document.
Often such high-completion video games characteristic dump-offs and screens, however Daniels did so in a recreation during which he averaged 11.0 yards per try. In NFL historical past, there have been 20 video games with no less than 20 passes and a 90% completion charge or higher, and that is the third-highest yards per try inside these 20 video games.
The twin-threat nature of Daniels’ recreation means he is additionally main all NFL rookies in dashing yards with 171, and he is one dashing landing behind the general NFL lead there. He is on tempo to throw for 3,762 yards, rush for 969 and account for 28 touchdowns dashing and passing. He additionally ranks fourth amongst all NFL quarterbacks in passer score.
The joy round Daniels will make Washington a extra coveted TV commodity. Because it stands, the Commanders have just one extra prime-time recreation scheduled this season, on a Thursday in Week 11 at Philadelphia. If Daniels retains up something near the extent of play he is proven via three video games, Washington will discover itself flexed into larger TV home windows.
He’ll go head-to-head with Chicago’s Caleb Williams in Week 9, and whereas Denver’s Bo Nix took an enormous step ahead within the Broncos‘ win over the Bucs on Sunday, Daniels seems to be to be the early chief on this rookie quarterback class.
Steelers‘ Zach Frazier main rookie OL class
The 2024 NFL Draft had offensive line as a place of energy and depth, and that has performed out within the first three weeks of the season. 9 rookies have established themselves as multi-game starters: 4 tackles within the Chargers‘ Joe Alt, the Titans‘ JC Latham, the Saints‘ Taliese Fuaga and the Cowboys‘ Tyler Guyton; two guards within the Patriots‘ Layden Robinson and the 49ers‘ Dominick Puni; and three facilities within the Steelers’ Zach Frazier, Bucs‘ Graham Barton and the Cowboys’ Cooper Beebe.
Of these 9, the very best graded by Professional Soccer Focus is definitely Frazier, the No. 6 heart on the positioning. He is proven each soccer smarts and a physicality to have the ability to line up towards larger nostril tackles, drawing reward from longtime Steelers heart Maurkice Pouncey on Ben Roethlisberger’s podcast.
“I feel he has all the power — the bodily skill, the psychological skill — to be an amazing soccer participant for the Steelers,” Pouncey mentioned. “I am on board with him 100%.”
At sort out, Alt is PFF’s highest-graded at No. 15, although he is now sidelined with a sprained MCL. Latham (twentieth) and Fuaga (twenty third) aren’t far behind.
Frazier is making this influence as a second-round decide, and different mid-rounders are stepping up on the inside line. The Patriots’ Robinson is a fourth-round decide, and Beebe and Puni are each third-round picks. Rams guard Beaux Limmer, a sixth-round decide and one in all 18 rookies on the Rams’ 53-man roster, stepped in and performed each snap of their win over the 49ers.
NFL’s No. 1 goal: Giants rookie Malik Nabers
Giants receiver Malik Nabers had two landing catches in Sunday’s win over the Browns, and what’s most outstanding in his spectacular begin is the sheer quantity of passes being thrown his manner.
If you are going to make investments a excessive first-round decide on a receiver, you need to maximize that funding, and the Giants are at document ranges. In three video games, Nabers already has 37 targets — the one different NFL participant with greater than 29 is the Lions‘ Amon-Ra St. Brown, with 32.
Professional-rate that over a full season, and Nabers is on target for 210 targets, which might be a document for the reason that stat began being saved in 1992. Kudos to anybody who can identify the present document holder. (It is former Jets receiver Rob Moore, who had 208 targets in 1997.) There have solely been 5 200-target seasons in NFL historical past, none since Julio Jones in 2015. For perspective, the Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb led the NFL with 181 targets in 2023.
Precocious begin for Braelon Allen
Jets operating again Braelon Allen had 11 carries for 55 yards Sunday, a yard greater than Breece Corridor for the workforce lead, and the fourth-round decide from Wisconsin continues to show heads as he takes on a bigger position. His two Week 2 touchdowns have been notable as a result of he is solely 20 years outdated and will not flip 21 till Jan. 20 — as such, he is the youngest participant to attain a landing within the Tremendous Bowl period.
That is a full two months youthful than JuJu Smith-Schuster was when he scored his first landing in 2017, and that is who Allen is chasing for many touchdowns earlier than a twenty first birthday. Smith-Schuster had 5, Chicago’s Rashaad Salaam had two in 1995, Tampa Bay’s Reidel Anthony had two in 1997 and New Orleans’ Brandin Cooks had one in 2014. That is all the Tremendous Bowl period record.
Introducing …
The NFL distinguishes between rookies and first-year gamers — a rookie was in faculty final yr, whereas a first-year participant might need been on a apply squad or in one other league. Regardless of that distinction, we’ll nonetheless give a shoutout to Broncos edge rusher Dondrea Tillman, who had two sacks in his NFL debut Sunday in Denver’s shocking rout of the Bucs. Tillman is 26, performed at Division II Indiana College of Pennsylvania and gained three championships with the Birmingham Stallions the previous three summers within the USFL and UFL. He was lower by the Broncos after preseason however got here again on the apply squad and made essentially the most of his first NFL snaps Sunday.
Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports activities. He beforehand spent a decade masking the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Instances and The Athletic. You may comply with him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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