Throughout the first half of his rookie season, Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels was often mentioned in the MVP conversation. Nevermind that Daniels was a rookie, he had the Commanders atop the NFC East halfway through the season — one year after the franchise won four games.
After Washington lost three consecutive games, the MVP talk died down, as Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen were locked in a battle for that award. However, Daniels led the Commanders to seven straight wins until losing in the NFC championship game.
Daniels clinched the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award long before the end of the season. His play in Washington’s three playoff games has everyone looking ahead to next season.
Can Daniels be an MVP candidate in 2025?
Using DraftKings Sportsbook, CBS Sports has Daniels’ odds of winning MVP next season at +1000. Daniels was fifth behind Jackson, Allen, Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow.
CBS is going with Daniels as the early favorite.
Daniels put together a historic rookie season, leading the Washington Commanders to the NFC Championship. He also became just the second player in league history to record 4,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing in a season (including playoffs). Because of Daniels’ dual-threat ability, he has the benefit of putting up eye-popping numbers, which has helped the likes of Lamar Jackson win the award in the past. With the Commanders owning the third-most amount of cap space and plenty of draft capital to further build around him, he should have a better roster at his disposal in 2025. On top of new additions to the roster, it shouldn’t be overlooked that Daniels will continue to have offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury in his ear after forgoing head-coaching opportunities this cycle. That should only help as Daniels steps into Year 2.
There are tons of reasons why Daniels should be a favorite in 2025. Look how much he accomplished with a roster around him that many believed wouldn’t win more than seven or eight games. The Commanders won 14 games, including the playoffs.
Washington will improve this offseason. The Commanders have close to $80 million in salary cap room, allowing general manager Adam Peters to get Daniels more help on offense and fix one of the NFL’s worst run defenses.