Schefter: Jayden Daniels has 'an interest in being other places' than Washington

The NFL Draft plot thickens.

With less than a week until the draft kicks off in Detroit, certain narratives have been starting to get set. Caleb Williams will be taken number one overall by the Bears. Nobody is disputing that.

The next domino to supposedly fall will be the Commanders taking LSU’s Jayden Daniels at No. 2 overall. More and more draft analysts have started to point to that being the case over the last few weeks. That may be changing however.

Teams are allowed to host 30 prospects for in-house visits, often referred to as Top 30 visits. Most teams choose to host prospects individually. Washington however chose to host 20 prospects – including top QB prospects Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, J.J. McCarthy and Michael Penix Jr. – all at once Tuesday night.

That decision has led to widespread criticism including from Jayden Daniels’ agent who quote tweeted criticism with emojis, seeming question the decision himself.

NFL insider Adam Schefter joined The Pat McAfee Show Friday to dive into the speculation and dropped the nugget that Daniels isn’t to high on Washington.

“The signs point to Jayden Daniels at No. 2. It’s tracking towards Jayden Daniels at No. 2 but there’s no decision,” said Schefter. “The Commanders are going through it this week and again it’s a situation where, from the outset, Jayden Daniels has had an interest in being other places. He just has.”

Washington general manager Adam Peters has made it clear that he plans on staying put at No. 2, unlike the Patriots, Cardinals and Chargers who have all voiced willingness to move out of their No. 3, 4 and 5 spots, respectively.

“Now the interest is OK what do the Commanders do about that,” continued Schefter. “Like, there have been plenty of players who have wanted to play elsewhere and teams don’t care and they do what they do. Or there’s a team that wants him – I.e. a team that used to, essentially, that has a coach that worked with him in college – they have to trade for him. So, what do they want to do?”

The team that Schefter hinted at is the Raiders, whose head coach Antonio Pierce was the defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Arizona State when Daniels played for the Sun Devils. SI’s Albert Breer wrote this week that the Raiders “like the idea of adding Daniels to their quarterback room” but that a move up may not be realistic due to the price.

Tigers Quarterback Jayden Daniels 5 runs the ball as the LSU Tigers take on the Auburn Tigers at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023. © SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network

“Jayden Daniels was not particularly enthralled to be included in a speed-dating group of quarterbacks,” Schefter told McAfee. “He thought it would be basically by himself. He thought he would be going in there – shortly before the visit found out that Michael Penix Jr. is going there, Drake Maye is going there, J.J. McCarthy is going in. And so the dynamics change.”

“I still think he’s the favorite to go No. 2 but there’s maneuvering going on. We’re not done with the maneuvering. I still think he’s the favorite to go No. 2,” said Schefter.

Vikings fans will notice the lack of a team being mentioned when Schefter said Daniels is the “favorite to go No. 2.” Minnesota have held a private workout with Daniels and even dined with the Heisman QB Thursday evening.

Minnesota remain one of the likeliest teams to move up in next week’s draft. The Vikings have two-first round picks – No. 11 and 23 – that could be used in a move to trade up to get their future quarterback.