Jayden Daniels, Caleb Williams make NFL debuts: Commanders rookie QB rushes for score on opening drive

Saturday marks the NFL debuts of the Nos. 1 and 2 overall picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, as Caleb Williams will see his first preseason action for the Chicago Bears and Jayden Daniels makes his debut for the Washington Commanders. Williams did not play in Chicago’s preseason opener in the Hall of Fame Game, but will take the field against the Buffalo Bills later this afternoon.

Daniels, meanwhile, is already making his presence known.

Daniels’ first NFL pass saw him fire a screen over the top of Austin Ekeler’s head. But it didn’t take long for him to bounce back. On the Commanders’ third play from scrimmage, Daniels found third-year wideout Dyami Brown streaking up the sideline for a 42-yard gain working against backup cornerback Jarrick Bernard-Converse.

That’s just a beautifully placed ball, thrown calmly from the center of the pocket at the top of his drop. And Brown does a great job of using his body to shield the defender away from the ball and then haul it in over his shoulder.

A few plays later (and after a prolonged measurement using the new virtual system), Daniels ran it into the end zone from 3 yards out on third-and-goal.

That’s a very simple zone read, with Daniels spotting the defensive lineman crashing down toward the handoff, pulling the ball out and taking off around the edge. At the end of his first career drive, Daniels was 2 of 3 for 45 yards in the air along with that lone TD run. His day his done as he was replaced for the second drive by veteran Marcus Mariota.