The Washington Commanders have a franchise quarterback. For fans, that has been a long time coming. There’s not one fan who would be interested in trading Jayden Daniels. But what would he be worth if Washington did trade him?

Bill Barnwell of ESPN conducted a hypothetical exercise where he examines the rosters of all 32 NFL teams to determine which players are worth a first-round pick — or more.

Well, obviously, Daniels is worth a first-round pick — a lot more. Daniels is the type of talent who could have multiple MVPs in his future. Barnwell’s value on Daniels: Four first-round picks plus more.

I can see both sides of the argument. While nobody doubts what Daniels did last season, he has done it only once, as opposed to Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, who have been MVP candidates for most of their careers. There are still teams that would hesitate to invest in him because of his slight frame, and there’s always a concern that a quarterback who had so much success scrambling and creating on fourth down might not be able to keep that up. Maybe that side thinks Daniels is worth two first-round picks.

Then there’s the other side, which would (correctly) point out that Daniels reinvigorated an entire fan base last season. He had one of the best rookie seasons in league history, throwing for 3,568 yards with 25 touchdowns while adding 891 rushing yards and six more scores on the ground. He did that with wideout Terry McLaurin, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and a bunch of guys who weren’t moving the needle around the league. There probably won’t be another Hail Mary to beat the Bears or another 86-yard touchdown to nearly tie the game in the fourth quarter against the Cowboys, but Daniels doesn’t need those plays to be an elite quarterback. If he cuts unnecessary sacks out of his game, what else would he need to be on the same level as those guys I mentioned?

Crucially, while Mahomes, Allen and Jackson are all on significant contracts, Daniels is in the second season of his four-year, $37.7 million rookie deal. With the Commanders already having paid his signing bonus, they’ll pay him $2.5 million in 2025 and $4.3 million in 2026 before he is even eligible for an extension. He might be one of the league’s two or three biggest bargains while playing the most important position in sports. Is that worth five first-round picks? Six? Seven? The answer is “too many,” so I tried to strike a middle ground.

Barnwell is correct. “Too many” would be the answer. It’s incredibly fair to point out that Daniels has only done it for one season, whereas the other four quarterbacks who were “worth” four first-round picks or more have multiple MVP-type seasons on their resume. But if you were starting a new franchise tomorrow and had your pick, Daniels would be in the conversation, along with Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow. There is no higher praise than that.

Daniels didn’t just excel on the field, but he also gave the franchise its best season in 33 years, brought back old fans, helped create new fans and became a top-selling jersey. Imagine when Washington’s “throwback” jerseys go on sale. Daniels is a franchise quarterback, but he’s also a symbol of hope and change for a starving fan base.

The only other player on Washington’s roster that Barnwell said was worth a first-round pick more was cornerback Mike Sainristil. If you’ve been following training camp, you’d know that Sainristil has been having a phenomenal start to the summer.

Daniels was the only player in the NFC East worth more than two first-round picks, per Barnwell. There were only five players worth at least four first-round picks and they were Mahomes, Jackson, Burrow, Allen and Daniels.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: What would Commanders QB Jayden Daniels be worth in a trade?