Jayden Daniels

Daniels has to be discussed this week after back-to-back QB24 weekly finishes in fantasy. Dan Quinn has stated that Daniels is healthy, but I don't know if I'm buying it. Since Week 8, Daniels has had at least an 18.2% off-target rate or higher in three of four games. Last week, his aDOT was a season-low of 3.7 yards. Over the last two weeks, Daniels has averaged only five rushing attempts and 11.5 rushing yards per game. In Weeks 1-9, in Daniels' full games played, he only once had less than eight rushing attempts and 35 rushing yards. I'm hoping we see Daniels look more like the ridiculously talented rookie that we have come to love, but I have my worries. If Daniels can bounce back, he should shred the Dallas pass defense. Since Week 6, the Cowboys have allowed the fourth-highest success rate per dropback, the highest yards per attempt, the second-highest passer rating, and the sixth-highest CPOE. Daniels should enjoy clean pockets against a defense that during that time frame has ranked 15th in pressure rate.

It may not seem like it, but Jayden Daniels has not finished as a top-10 fantasy quarterback in any week since Week 4. Daniels has an excellent opportunity to reverse that trend in Week 12. Washington will host the Dallas Cowboys this week. Dallas ranks 29th in defensive DVOA and 31st in EPA versus the pass this year. Perhaps the best argument against Daniels is the likelihood that the Commanders get too far ahead and decide to pump the brakes in the second half. But that should not deter fantasy managers from trusting Daniels as a QB1 this week. The rookie carries huge upside, making him a consensus top-five play in Week 12.