When an NFL team selects a quarterback at or near the top of the draft, the expectation has become that the player will start under center right away.
The last team to pick a quarterback in the top three and then not start him in Week 1 was the San Francisco 49ers, who took Trey Lance at No. 3 overall and had him sit behind Jimmy Garoppolo. The last team to have a top-two pick begin his career on the bench was the Chicago Bears, who had Mitchell Trubisky sit behind Mike Glennon before assuming the starting role.
In other words, it's been a while since a quarterback taken at the top of his class hasn't been the immediate starter. Apparently, though, the Washington Commanders have not yet made a decision on whether No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels -- who split first-team reps this spring with Marcus Mariota -- will join that list. At least, that's what Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said, according to ESPN.
Granted, training camp is still over a month away. There's plenty of time for Washington to make the decision that Daniels will indeed open the season as the starter. For his part, Daniels is taking the process as it comes to him.
"I've got a long way to go," Daniels said, also via ESPN. "If you really want to be successful, you want to learn, you want to be a pro at the highest level, you got to take knowledge of people, learn from their routines, what helped them be successful."
That's almost surely the right attitude for Daniels to have. In all likelihood, he is going to start under center. But soaking up as much knowledge and training as he can throughout the offseason is the best way to prepare for that eventuality, and an improvement-focused mindset will serve him well once he does step into the top job.
