Can Commanders Quarterback Jayden Daniels Survive 2026 Without a Stronger Offensive Line?
There has been a lot of discussion about the Washington Commanders and what their priority should be heading into the 2026 NFL Draft. NFL Analyst Colin Cowherd has made it pretty clear what his stance on Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels is.
“Jayden Daniels is gonna need protection. Jaden Daniels is gonna get beat up in this league. I always said the fall of Andrew Luck was that they couldn’t protect him.”
Dallas Cowboys rookie linebacker Shemar James had the fastest sack across all of Week 7 in the NFL, according to @ZebraTechnology.
James sacked Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels in 2.28 seconds.
(🎥: NFL Pro) pic.twitter.com/ZGTKFzgEY7
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) October 21, 2025
Commanders Quarterback Jayden Daniels: The Similarities to Andrew Luck
The comparison Cowherd is drawing is hard to deny; Andrew Luck took a beating at the hands of the offensive line, and one of the greatest ‘what ifs’ in modern NFL history ensued. Daniels, in Cowherd’s analysis, is headed on a collision course with this reality unless Washington acts quickly. And, to some extent, the assessment has merit. Daniels did take hits last season. There is no need for fancy metrics to determine that.
Is the Offensive Line Entirely to Blame?
However, here is where the argument falters. The conclusion reached is that the hits were solely the product of offensive line play. It is the simple route; it is the explanation that fails to take everything else into account. Washington did not just ignore their line; they added pieces and players. It is a roster constructed with more foresight than with duct tape. Everything outside of the structure fell apart; receiving talent was shaky, injuries riddled the team, and at times it felt like the offense was being glued together on a week-to-week basis. When the play around the offense breaks down, quarterbacks will hold the ball, waiting for something that does not materialize, forcing a creation that ends in a hit that does not just come from protection issues.
Jayden Daniels sacked for the second time and this one is a big loss because of the long dropback.
From 2nd and 7 to 3rd and 20. #HTTC pic.twitter.com/tm5AaNTXP1
— Chad Ryan (@ChadwikoTWW) September 8, 2024
Not just from protection issues. From circumstance.
There is also a part of Daniels’ game that keeps getting brushed aside in this conversation. He is not just surviving out there. He has shown the ability to function as a real pocket passer.
Give him structure, and those flashes will become consistent.
Which brings this back to the bigger issue.
Protection is not just about adding another lineman and hoping it fixes everything. It is about giving a quarterback answers. Targets who separate. An offense that stays on schedule. A system that does not force him into hero mode every other drive.
That is where this take starts to fall apart.
Cowherd is not wrong to bring up protection. He is just focusing on the wrong version of it.
Should the Commanders be in Panic Mode?
Washington is not in a position where they need to panic. They are not backed into a corner where the only answer is offensive line. They can build this the right way, whether that means adding a weapon, strengthening the defense, or simply taking the best player available.
And that might do more to protect Daniels than anything else.
Because the quickest way to get a quarterback hit is not always bad blocking.
It is giving him nowhere to go with the football.
