Some may not want to admit this, but while watching the Washington Commanders march through the most recent NFL season, something became obvious relatively early. The Philadelphia Eagles‘ rivals are on their way. They may not have elevated themselves to equal footing with the Birds yet, but there’s a chance they’ll cause a few issues.
Seeing the Commanders catapult themselves into the NFC Championship Game offered a rude awakening. Washington’s rise might be nearer than previously expected. Still, while most saw the postgame handshake between Jalen Hurts and Jayden Daniels as a congratulatory gesture, one of ESPN’s finest thinks he saw a passing of the torch.
Welcome to Marcus Spears’ wild NFC East theory
It wouldn’t be sports talk without prognostication. It wouldn’t be ESPN without controversy. Recently, the NFL Live crew found itself engaged in a conversation about the NFC East’s quarterbacks.
The names are familiar: Jalen Hurts, Dak Prescott, Jayden Daniels, and Russell Wilson. Former Cowboys star Marcus Spears shared an unexpected expectation about one of them. He expects Daniels to be the best offensive signal-caller in the division soon.
“I expect him to be the best quarterback in the NFC East.”@Mspears96 has high expectations for Jayden Daniels going into next season 👀 pic.twitter.com/lI7Q4EWYs1
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) June 25, 2025
Well, at least he didn’t cast his vote for Dak Prescott, but something else is afoot here. Where does this refusal to give Jalen Hurts the proper respect come from? He wasn’t mentioned at all in Spears’ theory, but if we’re talking about making plays ‘off-script’, few do so better than Hurts.
Here’s another nugget, or several. While every starting quarterback in the NFC East is interesting, albeit for different reasons, two have appeared in two Super Bowls. One of those two has been so unimpressive and inconsistent for so long that few can recall when he was still effective.
You all can argue among yourselves about which guy we’re discussing, but here’s a hint. It’s Russell Wilson. Spears and everyone else who loves Daniels aren’t wrong about his potential. It’s just seemingly off-base to promote him to the first chair in a division where one of the game’s best reigns supreme.
Daniels was phenomenal in his first year, but now he has to repeat that success. Let’s see how he does in year two at the helm, and once we rule out the possibility of a sophomore jinx, then we can reassess.
This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: Former Cowboy says Commanders have the best QB in the NFC East