The Washington Commanders need to make sure they have depth all over the field in 2024 â mainly because almost every starter is going to have a quick hook if they don’t play well.
One position where they’re not being projected to have unneeded depth to start the season is at quarterback, where ESPN is projecting the Commanders will only keep two quarterbacks to start the season with rookie Jayden Daniels and veteran Marcus Mariota.
“Whenever Daniels becomes the starter â whether it’s on day one of camp or Week 2 of the season â he’ll stay there for a while,” wrote ESPN’s John Keim. “Mariota is the insurance policy whose style would not warrant much change in the style of the offense. Either Sam Hartman or Jeff Driskel, the other quarterbacks entering camp, could be kept on the practice squad.”
Hartman was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame. Driskel was signed as a free agent in 2024 and is on his sixth team in nine seasons.
Will Daniels and Mariota Be Enough Depth?
We already know Mariota’s ability to withstand the brutality of an entire NFL season â or be a very good quarterback in the NFL. Both are not good.
Daniels, 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, doesn’t seem like he’s necessarily built to withstand that type of beating either, even though he’ll most likely be the starter to begin the season. Another thing working against Daniels? The No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft is a dual-threat quarterback and will need to use his legs to win games â at least early in his career.
Daniels played the first three seasons of his college career at Arizona State before transferring to LSU for his final two seasons in 2022 and 2023.
Daniels won the Heisman Trophy in 2023 after he threw for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns and 4 interceptions to go with 1,134 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.
Daniels signed a signed a fully-guaranteed, 4-year, $37.7 million contract that included a $24.3 million signing bonus. Mariota, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft by the Tennessee Titans, signed a 1-year, $6 million contract with the Commanders on March 12.
Hartman, Driskel Looking Like Odd Man Out
Driskel has been bad in his chances to be a starting quarterback over the last eight seasons â he’s 1-11 as a starter in his career.
Hartman played the first four seasons of his college career at Wake Forest and could have entered the 2023 NFL draft but decided to go for the bigger payday by playing one season at Notre Dame, where he went 9-3 in in 12 starts, throwing for 2,689 yards, 24 touchdowns and 8 interceptions.
Hartman was one of the highest-paid players in college football in 2023, according to a $1.2 million valuation from On3. Notre Dame reportedly had endorsement deals with Google, Under Armour, Beats by Dre, Dove, Dollar Shave Club and Mizzen+Main.
Hartman, 6-foot-1 and 211 pounds, wasnât drafted despite making a staggering 57 starts across six college seasons.
NFL analyst Lance Zierlein had Hartman projected as a Day 3 pick going in the 6-7 round range and compared him to former Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, who played 13 seasons in the NFL after he was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft.
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