In the NFL, you don’t have the chance for a “do-over” to erase past mistakes. That’s good in some ways, bad in others. In the 2024 NFL draft, the Washington Commanders selected quarterback Jayden Daniels with the No. 2 overall pick. The Chicago Bears used the No. 1 overall pick on quarterback Caleb Williams.

In a 2024 NFL re-draft exercise from Bleacher Report, the Commanders miss out on Daniels and settle for D.C. native Williams with the No. 2 pick.

The Commanders can’t be thrilled about missing out on Jayden Daniels, but they can’t be surprised either. The problem is that settling on a replacement quarterback won’t be easy.

The Bleacher Report Scouting Department ranked North Carolina’s Drake Maye above Williams and Daniels on its final 2024 draft board. But according to ESPN’s John Keim, Washington preferred Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy over Maye.

With McCarthy missing his entire rookie campaign following knee surgery—and therefore remaining a relative unknown—the Commanders scoop up Williams here.

Yes, Williams disappointed as a rookie, posting an 87.8 passer rating and taking a league-high 68 sacks. However, he was stuck in a bad offensive system with an even worse offensive line.

The Commanders forged a solid supporting cast for Daniels and paired him with a creative offensive play-caller in Kliff Kingsbury. It’s not difficult to imagine Williams also having a successful rookie campaign in Daniels’ shoes.

Kingsbury was with Williams at USC as an offensive analyst in 2023. In this redraft, the two reunite in Washington.

To say Washington would be disappointed is an understatement. Williams was a phenomenal prospect coming out of USC, but the Commanders privately told others that Daniels was always their No. 1 target. We know about Daniels’ impact on the field, leading Washington to its best season in 33 years, but he was so much more. He had the NFL’s best-selling jersey and single-handedly rejuvenated an entire fan base.

Williams struggled as a rookie, and as a result, the Bears changed coaches. New coach Ben Johnson turned around Jared Goff’s career, and Chicago did an outstanding job rebuilding the offensive line this offseason. There’s a good chance that Williams will look much better in 2025, but there’s no way the Commanders would prefer him over Daniels.

Speaking of re-drafts, the Commanders would probably like to partake in that exercise from 2020-23, if it were real.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders miss out on Jayden Daniels in 2024 NFL re-draft