Hogs Haven
A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders, the NFC East, the NFL and sports in general, and a sprinkling of other stuff
Who are the best young players at each position heading into the 2025 NFL season? Nick Shook assembles an All-Under-25 Team below, listing 12 offensive players (including one flex spot) and 11 defenders.
NOTE: Each player’s listed age represents how old he will be on Sept.4 — the day the 2025 NFL season kicks off — which served as the cutoff for eligibility.
QB Jayden Daniels - Washington Commanders · Age: 24
Because he played five seasons of college football, Daniels entered the NFL last season with a ton of on-field experience under his belt — and at a relatively advanced age. So he will only get one year to occupy this spot, before he turns 25 in December. When it comes to young NFL quarterbacks, though, he was an easy choice after running away with the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award and inspiring a remarkable turnaround by a team that had been directionless for far too long. Daniels revived a dormant fanbase in just one season, posting an excellent (especially for a rookie) season-long stat line: 3,568 passing yards, 25 passing TDs, nine interceptions, 891 rushing yards and six rushing scores. He also quickly became the face of a franchise that desperately needed one. And he did all of that in just one season.
Daniels amassed a whopping 73 scrambles last season, which was 22 more scrambles than the second quarterback on that list, Caleb Williams. While Daniels averaged 8.1 yards per scramble in 2024, which was the third most of any quarterback across the league, 73 scrambles in a single season is nowhere near sustainable in the long-term.
The first thought is that Jayden Daniels had a below average offensive line, which caused the pocket to collapse quicker, which is not entirely true. In PFF’s Final 2024 NFL offensive line rankings, Washington placed at number ten. In fact, last season, Daniels was pressured on just 18.5% of dropbacks, which is 2.9% less than the league average.
Don’t get me wrong, Daniels was an extremely dominant dual-threat quarterback last season, rushing for 891 yards and 6 touchdowns, on top of 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns in the air. So why is it that he has to cut down on the scrambles?
Injury Risk
When you look at some of the NFL’s top dual-threat quarterbacks, injuries are a very common theme. Throughout their careers, Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Anthony Richardson, and Josh Allen have all suffered concussions—or in Allen’s case, been placed in concussion protocol—which is something Daniels has already fallen victim to.
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