Is Jayden Daniels the best rookie QB in NFL history?

Few things fuel sports discourse quite like a GOAT debate. There's truly nothing like it.

Every once in a while, though, we come across a case on which everyone can agree. Jayden Daniels' standing among the best rookie quarterbacks in NFL history may fall into that category.

The Commanders phenom was hardly the headliner of the 2024 NFL Draft. Caleb Williams was seen as the consensus No. 1 pick long before he ever declared, and the Bears surrounding the USC star with a collection of names at receiver convinced the football world that he was set up for immediate success. Oops.

Williams may yet be on his own extended path to superstardom. But while all six teams that drafted a quarterback in the top 12 picks last April have legitimate reason to be happy with their decisions, no rookie signal-caller has been on Daniels' level. Not this year, and probably not ever.

It took only a few weeks for Daniels to emerge as the clear favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. An early four-game winning streak after an opening-week road loss, highlighted by his Week 3 coming-out party against the Bengals in prime time, set the Commanders on a path to blow past their projected win total by the halfway point.

The LSU product finished the regular season as one of just seven rookie quarterbacks in NFL history to post a 95-plus QB rating while starting at least 10 games. The names on that list, each drafted this century, are all roughly in the same ballpark regarding passing numbers.

However, the passing game is only one part of Daniels' value. Though pre-draft comparisons to Lamar Jackson always felt a little over the top, he wasted no time before establishing himself as one of the league's most dangerous running quarterbacks.

Daniels broke Robert Griffin III's all-time rookie QB rushing record this season, leading all Commanders ball carriers with 891 yards. Both of Washington's rookie sensations - drafted 12 years apart - are the only quarterbacks to top the 800-yard mark in their debut campaigns.

Daniels is also the clear leader among top rookie rushing QBs in both first downs and success rate - the frequency with which a ball carrier gains at least 40% of yards required on first down, 60% on second down, and 100% on third and fourth down.

Only Griffin's rookie season comes close to matching Daniels' in terms of dual-threat impact. Add in postseason success, and the face of a new era in Washington truly begins to separate himself from the pack.

This year's Commanders are heading to the NFC title matchup for the first time since 1991 largely because Daniels is taking his game to even greater heights when it matters. The 24-year-old was nearly flawless in road playoff wins over the NFC South champion Buccaneers and the No. 1-seeded Lions, completing 69.7% of his passes for a playoff-leading 567 yards, four touchdowns, and no turnovers.

Daniels finished the regular season with 0.15 EPA/dropback, tied with Joe Burrow for seventh among this campaign's top quarterbacks. He's more than doubled that mark to this point in the playoffs, the best postseason performance of any rookie quarterback who started two-plus games since at least 2000.

His poise under pressure seems to get better as the stakes rise. Daniels has been blitzed on 32 dropbacks during the playoffs, a clear attempt from opponents to force the rookie into making mistakes. They're having no such luck. He's completed 69% of passes for 328 yards, one touchdown, and no turnovers in those situations. Daniels has also taken only one sack despite being pressured on 28 dropbacks, according to PFF. His 3.6% pressure-to-sack rate is the lowest mark among all quarterbacks this postseason.

Daniels' unflappability has also been the driving force behind the Commanders' fourth-down prowess. Washington converted 20 of 23 fourth-down attempts for an absurd (and league-best) 87% rate during the regular season. Daniels accounted for seven of those as a passer and eight as a runner. He's continued that success in the playoffs, going a combined 5-for-7 on his fourth-down tries the last two weeks.

Daniels is just the sixth QB in league history to start a conference title game as a rookie. If the raw production to this point isn't convincing enough, consider that Daniels is the only one of that group to make it this far without the help of an elite defense.

The others in this exclusive company went a combined 0-5 in their conference title appearances as rookies. On paper, a matchup with the powerhouse Eagles suggests Daniels could be headed for a similar fate. But the Commanders heard the same thing heading into Detroit last week. Washington also beat Philadelphia in Week 16 when QB Jalen Hurts left the game in the first quarter with a concussion.

With these early draft swings, the goal is always to find a quarterback who can elevate his teammates and raise the organization's ceiling. Daniels, one win away from becoming the first rookie quarterback to start a Super Bowl, is already doing it unlike anyone we've ever seen. The brighter the lights, the better he gets.

Maybe that continues this week; maybe the magic runs out. No matter the result, the Commanders have already won. Football is fun again in Washington, and one of the game's most promising stars is just getting started.