Commanders running back Austin Ekeler is excited about Jayden Daniels in 2025.
Ekeler sat down with SiriusXM NFL radio and had a good time talking about last season’s NFL Offensive Rookie of the year (Daniels). “I don’t know what it is about me being around NFL rookie quarterbacks,” began Ekeler. “You know, I had offensive rookie of the year Justin Herbert (2020) when he was a rookie. And now I have Jayden Daniels, the offensive rookie of the year.
“So, I don’t know if it’s about me being on the team (broke out into laughter), but he (Daniels) certainly exceeded expectations,” said Ekeler.
No, he wasn’t serious at all. In fact, Ekeler broke out into laughter, even trying to keep a straight face while suggesting it might be because he was there both times the two young quarterbacks became the NFL offensive rookie of the year.
.@Commanders RB @AustinEkeler is excited to see what QB Jayden Daniels can do during the 2025 season after winning Offensive Rookie of the Year.
📻 https://t.co/u2cRkasH7n#Commanders | #RaiseHailpic.twitter.com/TW6tlUNAJ3
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) June 23, 2025
Ekeler went on to elaborate regarding Daniels, saying the rookie quarterback last season certainly exceeded expectations and had the type of season you usually don’t see from rookie quarterbacks in the NFL.
“He crushed it last year, continued Ekeler. “What I see going forward is we have the same offensive coordinator (Kliff Kingsbury) so bringing that into the mix, so that now when we went through OTAs, Jayden was already on it. He’s beyond the rookie mistakes, knows the playbook, he’s getting people lined up…”
Daniels led the Commanders in his rookie season, passing for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns with only nine interceptions. Completing 69 percent of his passes, Daniels averaged 7.4 yards per passing attempt. He finished his first NFL season with a passer rating of 100.1 and a QBR of 70.6.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Expectations are sky high for Commanders QB Jayden Daniels in 2025