Commanders' Jayden Daniels is having the best rookie season in NFL history

Jayden Daniels has been a rookie revelation for the Washington Commanders, but fans may not realize just how historically incredible he's been.

Daniels has been absolutely sensational in his first season in the NFL; he's completed 69 percent of his passes for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns, while throwing just nine interceptions. He's also run for 891 yards and six touchdowns on 148 carries.

Those numbers are a season that an NFL veteran would be thrilled by; for a rookie, it's downright astonishing.

Remember, NFL rookies, especially rookie quarterbacks, tend to struggle a fair amount. The pace of the game is much faster, the athletes are better, the windows to throw into are much, much smaller. It takes time to adjust for even the best quarterbacks in history.

Let's take a look at some of the other best rookie seasons in league history. Typically, there are three seasons people point to when we're talking about phenomenal rookie seasons: Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson in 2012 and Dak Prescott in 2016.

Wilson and Prescott are more pocket passers than Daniels is, and they also had more help in their backfield and wide receiver corps than Daniels does. Dak had Ezekiel Elliott running for 1,631 yards behind him, and was throwing to Jason Witten (still one of the most consistent tight ends in the NFL at this point), Dez Bryant, and Cole Beasley. Even with that, Prescott threw for fewer touchdowns (25), and had a lower completion percentage (67.8) than Daniels, even if he threw for more yards (3,661) and fewer picks.

Wilson ran for 484 yards and four touchdowns, but had Marshawn Lynch in the backfield behind him, who racked up 1,590 yards and 11 touchdowns. Wilson threw for fewer yards (3,318), fewer touchdowns (26), and more interceptions (10) while completing a lower percentage of his passes (64.1), as well.

The closest comparison we have for Daniels is Griffin, because he was a true dual threat quarterback, but even his numbers pale in comparison. Griffin had the benefit of fellow rookie Alfred Morris' best season in the NFL, in which he ran for 1,613 yards and 13 touchdowns.

And there's no denying how good Griffin was in 2012; he threw for 3,200 yards and 20 touchdowns, while throwing just seven picks in 15 games, and ran for another 815 yards and seven touchdowns. But other than the interceptions, nothing Griffin did surpassed what Daniels did this season.

And Daniels is doing it with significantly less backfield help; he's the team's leading rusher, and would likely have surpassed 1,000 yards on the ground if he hadn't been banged up midseason.

Even if you extend this to other positions, there's no one who's showed this consistent level of brilliance in their rookie seasons compared to other people at the position. He singlehandedly dragged an otherwise pretty mediocre Commanders roster to the NFC Championship game, and could get them to their first Super Bowl since 1991 if things break the right way on Sunday.

In other words, savor this season while it lasts; you're witnessing something truly historic in Washington.

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