Commanders want Jayden Daniels to 'remain a passer' after running 16 times in his NFL debut

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Jayden Daniels has spent his life as a quarterback developing a feel for when to take off and run.

“You don’t want to get hit by 300 pound-plus people,” he said Wednesday. “It’s like just an instinct. That clock in your head is like, ‘All right, it’s time to go.’”

Daniels ran the ball 16 times in his NFL debut, rushing for 88 yards and two touchdowns in the Washington Commanders' season-opening loss at Tampa Bay. The coaching staff would certainly like to see their rookie quarterback and new face of the franchise tone that down moving forward.

“We’d love to see him remain a passer first, and I think it’s going to come with more experience,” coach Dan Quinn said. "(Sixteen) carries is not the model that we’re looking for. ... I do think we’ll continue to grow in that spot, but (it is) certainly not by design to have that many.”

Daniels, the No. 2 pick out of LSU after winning the Heisman Trophy last season as the best player in college football, is one of the top prospects in the league largely because of what he can do with his legs, along with his right arm. Still, his 16 carries matched Baltimore's Lamar Jackson for the most of any quarterback in Week 1 and were more than Philadelphia's Jalen Hurts or Pittsburgh's Justin Fields, who are not as new to the pros.

Retired QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, who ran 574 times during his playing career, expressed caution and compared the situation to Anthony Richardson injuring his right shoulder last year as a rookie with Indianapolis, leading to season-ending surgery.

“As we saw with Anthony Richardson last year, it’s exciting until it’s not, until there is an injury and these are big boys out there in the NFL, so he’s going to have to learn how to manage that a little bit,” Fitzpatrick said on a video call previewing Amazon's “Thursday Night Football” broadcasts. “They’re going to have to figure out the right balance because he is and has already shown he’s one of the top, probably, three or four runners at the quarterback position in the NFL, and it’s a big weapon and it causes a lot of problems for defenses.”

Quinn as a defensive coach said having a dual-threat quarterback “creates a headache — one that I am more than happy to be a part of creating."

In the same vein, he wants Daniels — who completed 17 of 24 passes for 184 yards — to keep opponents guessing.

“Let a route develop or the option of checking it down to somebody else,” Quinn said. “The great thing about him is it is our first game, and he’s going to be an exceptional player. Are there choices, when to go, when to not? You do have to grow and learn into those, and I am 100% certain that he will.”

Fellow rookie Luke McCaffrey, now a wide receiver after converting from quarterback in college, trusts Daniels to know when to pass and when to run.

“At the end of the day, the quarterback always is the one that sees the field and knows it,” McCaffrey said. “There’s always a fine balance. I think it’s such a valuable weapon when you look at a quarterback, something that can help get an offense started, help spark it and help it be more efficient, too.”

Fitzgerald pointed to Jackson as a good example of a QB figuring out how to run often but avoid significant contact and injuries.

Two-time All-Pro left tackle-turned-Amazon analyst Andrew Whitworth — who recalled yelling at Fitzgerald to get down when they were teammates — praised Daniels' “special ability” with the caveat of not wanting him to get hurt as Richardson did.

“Seeing Jayden and knowing him, I think he’s going to be very similar to Lamar’s style,” Whitworth said. “We know they’re fast and athletic, the guys that like to do it a lot, but it’s really the art of, do they know how to avoid hits?"

Daniels and the Commanders host the New York Giants on Sunday in a matchup of 0-1 NFC East rivals.

NOTES: Cornerback Emmanuel Forbes had his right thumb wrapped at practice after getting it banged up in the season opener, but the second-year pro said the plan is for him to play against the Giants. ... Rookie DT Johnny Newton could play despite again not practicing Wednesday because of a foot injury.

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Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press