How do Bucs slow Commanders dual threat quarterback Jayden Daniels?

TAMPA, Fla. — Jayden Daniels is anything but a paint-by-the numbers pocket NFL quarterback. He’s an escape artist.

The second overall pick of the Washington Commanders and 2023 Heisman Trophy winner can beat you with his feet and his arm.

Bucs outside linebacker Chris Braswell tackled Daniels when his Alabama team beat LSU, 42-28, last year In Tuscaloosa. Of course, he had to chase him 28 yards downfield to make that play.

“He’s a very good player,” Braswell said Wednesday, four days before the Bucs host the Commanders in their season opener.

“A good scrambler. He has a good deep ball. We’ve just got to contain him, attack him and get some hits on him. He’s very elusive. You’ve got to play 11-man defense and attack him and get all hats to the ball.”

To understand how effective Daniels is as a dual threat, consider that over the past two seasons at LSU, he rushed for 2,019 yards and 21 touchdowns to go with 6,725 yards and 57 touchdowns through the air.

“Any time you face a dual-threat quarterback, it’s going to be a problem,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said. “He can beat you with his legs or his arm. He was taken that high for a reason. He’s very accurate, very calm in the pocket, has a good mastery of the offense from what we’ve seen. ... It’s going to be tough trying to keep him in the pocket and trying to cover those guys.”

Daniels, who began his college career at Arizona State, won’t be unnerved by playing in his first NFL regular-season game.

In fact, he’s realistic enough to know things won’t go according to script Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.

“It’s not going to be a finished product Week 1,” he said. “You’re going to go through some growing pains. As everybody knows, you’re a rookie. You’re not going to have everything perfect. You can strive for perfection, but you know it’s not going to be perfect. There’s going to be some ups and downs, and go from there.”

Facing Bowles’ defense in a quarterback’s first NFL game can be tough. Typically, he dials up even more exotic blitzes and pressure in an effort to get a rookie to drop his eyes and watch the pass rush.

“Obviously, what Todd Bowles does over there and his track record as a defensive coach speaks for itself,” Daniels said. “They have a very savvy veteran in (linebacker) Lavonte David controlling the defense. He knows what’s going to go on, so we’ve got to go out there and just execute. They’ve got a good front and a very good overall defense.”

While the Bucs recently have had mixed results against rookie quarterbacks — the Texans’ C.J. Stroud passed for a rookie-record 470 yards and five touchdowns last season — it’s not been the norm lately.

Quarterbacks taken in the first round have lost in the first game of the season 10 consecutive times.

The last first-rounder to win his starting debut was the Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa in Week 8 of the 2020 season. Sam Darnold is the last passer taken in Round 1 to win his first start in Week 1 of the regular season.

The head coach of that Jets team Darnold played for in 2018? Bowles.

Of the last 32 rookie quarterbacks making their first start, only six had multiple touchdown passes and not multiple interceptions.

What separates Daniels from other dual threat quarterbacks is his speed. He runs the 40-yard dash in 4.32 seconds. As a runner, he’s in the class of an early Michael Vick. But he’s a better passer with a more accurate arm.

But Bowles said the Bucs defense cannot be so focused on Daniels that they lose sight of the Commanders’ other playmakers on offense.

“I think if you find yourself just facing a rookie quarterback, the other 10 guys are going to kill you,” Bowles said. “We’re facing the (Commanders); we’re not facing Jayden Daniels. They’ve got 10 other guys that we’ve got to worry about, as well. We don’t look at it as facing a rookie quarterback. We’re trying to beat the (Commanders).”