Commanders get brutal Jayden Daniels prediction for 2026 that would not be his fault
Commanders get brutal Jayden Daniels prediction for 2026 that would not be his fault originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Entering the 2026 NFL season, the Washington Commanders are going to hope Jayden Daniels can have a bounce-back season after a rough 2025 sophomore year.
If he can return to his production in his rookie season, Daniels could be a legitimate MVP candidate. However, unfortunately for Daniels and Commanders fans, ESPN’s Dan Graziano is predicting Daniels will struggle again in 2026.
It’s a brutal and realistic prediction, but there is one solace for Commanders fans: Graziano doesn’t believe it would be Daniels’ fault. He highlighted four main problems on offense that are out of Daniels’ control that could result in a rough 2026 season.
Jayden Daniels predicted to struggle in 2026 thanks to four issues out of his control
“Don’t be surprised if … quarterback Jayden Daniels struggles to regain his brilliant rookie-year form,” Graziano writes. “This isn’t about Daniels himself. He’s an absolutely awesome player, and assuming he can get through the season healthy, I expect him to perform at a high level. It’s what’s around him that has me concerned.”
Daniels had an injury-riddled 2025 season, but if he can stay healthy in 2026, Graziano believes he can rebound. The issue, however, is that Graziano has four key issues he’s worried about.
The first is the “thin and aging” wide receiver room in Washington, with Terry McLaurin and Stefon Diggs leading the way. Behind those two are rookie Antonio Williams, Luke McCaffrey, Treylon Burks, Dyami Brown, Jaylin Lane, and Jacoby Jones.
McLaurin and Diggs should be good, and Williams is a fun rookie receiver who could break out this year. But it’s a very shaky room that doesn’t exactly instill much confidence.
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The running back room is also an issue, as Graziano rightfully highlighted the “question marks” at the position. Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Rachaad White, and Kaytron Allen are not a reliable group of RBs.
They don’t even have a good offensive line to run behind, as Laremy Tunsil is likely to miss most, if not all, of the season, and there are some really big concerns about the OL in 2026 for the Commanders. That’s a huge problem for Daniels and the offense.
Lastly, they are trying to overcome all of these uncertain aspects of the roster with a new offensive coordinator in David Blough. While there might be some optimism about Blough, there is still plenty of uncertainty about his ability as a play-caller.
Overall, it’s hard to ignore all of the red flags with this offense, and Graziano is predicting Daniels and the Commanders’ offense will struggle because of that.
While it might not be Daniels’ fault, this prediction, which is unfortunately not too unrealistic, would make for a massively disappointing third season for Daniels in Washington.
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