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As Washington Commanders star Jayden Daniels looks to take the NFL by storm in his second year after an impressive rookie season, there’s no doubt he’s earned the respect of everybody on the team. With Daniels working in the Commanders’ training camp to prepare for the 2025 season, he would get high praise from teammate Austin Ekeler when being compared to Justin Herbert.
Before joining Washington, Ekeler played with the Los Angeles Chargers for a multitude of seasons, where Hebert was the quarterback and a productive one in his own right. When asked by Matt King who is better between Daniels and Herbert, Ekeler would say that the former is “more dynamic” due to his impressive running ability, whereas the latter “relies a little but more on his arm.”
“I think Jayden is more dynamic, just his running ability,” Ekeler said. “So it gives him a little bit more of a factor to take over the game, where if nothing’s there, he can still go make guys miss, and he’s still flying down the field. Where I think Justin relies a little bit more on his arm and the players around him, but can still obviously take over. But it’s just in a different way, more of like a Joe Burrow type of way, you got to get down with your arm type of thing.”
Former #Chargers (current #Commanders) RB Austin Ekeler was asked if he’d take Jayden Daniels or Justin Herbert.
He gave a really good and honest answer.
(via: @yappmatt) pic.twitter.com/grB1NSVgeT
— JPA Football (@jasrifootball) August 9, 2025
While Daniels strives to be a perfect player for the Commanders, there’s no denying how exceptional he was in his rookie season after being taken with the second overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Last season, he threw for 3,568 yards to go along with 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions, while on the ground, he rushed for 891 yards with six scores.
Daniels has and will continue to prove he is an all-around player, but there’s no doubt that his running ability makes him box office for any fan. Even Ekeler admits to King that Daniels makes the games “exciting” as the running back last season rushed for 367 yards to go with four touchdowns, and through the air, he recorded 31 receptions for 366 yards.
“I mean, it’s awesome to watch these games. The games are so exciting, you know, like we’re players, but we still have fun watching everything,” Ekeler said.
At any rate, Daniels looks to lead Washington to new heights after making the NFC Championship game last season as the team opens the upcoming schedule on Sunday, Sept. 7, against the New York Giants.
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