Travis and Jason Kelce have named the Washington Commanders as their surprise package of the NFL season so far – while heaping praise on rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.
The Commanders currently sit top of the NFC East after winning seven of their first nine games, which has come as a major shock given their struggles in recent years.
While there were lofty expectations for Daniels, who Washington selected with the second overall pick at this year’s NFL Draft, no one expected the 23-year-old to hit the ground running so effortlessly.
And on the latest episode of their New Heights podcast, the Kelce brothers singled out both Daniels and the Commanders for praise after naming them as their biggest shock of the 2024 season.
‘I think the Commanders are the biggest surprise,’ Jason initially said.
Travis then agreed: ‘100 percent, the Commanders are the biggest surprise in the league. They’ve had the most juice around how surprising they’ve been playing this year, and it has a lot to do with starting a rookie quarterback…’
After Jason said Daniels is ‘playing out of his mind’ right now, Travis continued: ‘[He’s] somebody who is very well developed and, do you know what, it sounds like in the building he wants to be developed. Everybody says he’s the first one in at 4am going over his s**t, learning the offense.
‘I’ve heard nothing but unbelievable things through this dude and how he loves the game of football.’
With Daniels at quarterback, Washington has only lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Baltimore Ravens in their first nine games of the season.
The highlights so far have been victories over the Cincinnati Bengals, the Arizona Cardinals and the Chicago Bears, which cemented their status as one of the dark horses of the league.
When asked what has impressed him most about Daniels so far, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn told reporters this week: ‘There’s a lot. I would say the poise and the decision-making.
‘For a quarterback to really have the regard for the football and the decision-making process to go so he’s playing the position well, not just throwing it well. So, when do I hand it, when do I give it, how do I use the clock, getting down to slide.’
