National Football League

Commanders QB Jayden Daniels' Hail Mary throw a first by a rookie in 25 years

Published Oct. 29, 2024 4:53 p.m. ET

We could probably lead the Rookie Report with Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels every week, but Sunday's showdown between Daniels and Bears quarterback Caleb Williams had an incredible finish well worth revisiting.

A Hail Mary game-winning throw like Daniels' 52-yard touchdown to Noah Brown is exceedingly rare, and even more so from a rookie quarterback. To look for any touchdown pass of 50-plus yards in the final 30 seconds of a game, you have to go back almost exactly 25 years, to Halloween 1999, another year with a flurry of quarterbacks at the top of the draft.

That pass was a 56-yard touchdown from Browns rookie Tim Couch to receiver Kevin Johnson — much the same, as a final heave that bounced off a group of players and was caught for the come-from-behind victory. You can watch a clip here, complete with the original call by the late Jim Donovan, who passed away this week.

Daniels' heave is the longest touchdown throw by a rookie quarterback this season, breaking his mark of 41 yards to receiver Dyami Brown. Who caught the longest touchdown pass thrown by a rookie last year? That would be Noah Brown, who caught a 75-yard pass from C.J. Stroud with the Texans last season for that honor as well.

Speaking of Stroud, he's the only rookie quarterback ever to throw more passes than Daniels in his first eight starts and have fewer interceptions. Stroud had an amazing 14 toouchdowns against one interception this time last year, while Daniels has seven touchdown passes against two interceptions. His 71.8 completion percentage is the best ever in a rookie quarterback's first eight starts, and only Brock Purdy and Deshaun Watson have had a higher passer rating than Daniels' 104.3.

One of the best ways Daniels can emulate Stroud this season is by leading his team to the playoffs as a rookie. At 6-2, the Commanders are a half-game up on the Eagles atop the NFC East, but still must play Philadelphia and Dallas twice each in their final nine games.

Who will be 2024's best rookie receiver?

This year's draft had three receivers taken in the top 10 picks, and it's been a close battle for the best rookie in this class, though it could ultimately be someone outside that group: Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr.

Thomas is dealing with a short-term ribs injury, but he leads all rookie receivers with 573 receiving yards and is tied for the rookie lead with five touchdowns. The Jaguars just lost veteran Christian Kirk to a season-ending injury, so Thomas' targets will only go up as Trevor Lawrence's clear No. 1 option the rest of this season. Thomas didn't go until 23rd overall in the draft, so it's impressive that he's outproducing rookies picked much higher.

His LSU teammate, Giants rookie Malik Nabers, has missed two games with injury and still has 23 more targets than any other rookie receiver — after 13 on Sunday, he's up to 73 for the season. Nabers leads the receiver class with 46 catches, totaling 498 yards and three scores.

The most prominent receiver in this rookie class is still Arizona's Marvin Harrison Jr., who has five touchdowns despite getting only 26 catches in the first eight games. The Cardinals are 4-4 and technically in first in the NFC West, and Harrison is coming off a big game, with 111 yards and a touchdown in Arizona's comeback win over the Dolphins. If the Cardinals can sustain a playoff push with Harrison as Kyler Murray's top target, he'll get more attention just because he's on a more relevant team.

The quiet start in the class is arguably by Chicago's Rome Odunze, who went ninth overall but has been Caleb Williams' third option, behind DJ Moore and tight end Cole Kmet. Odunze has only one touchdown this season and only one game with 50 yards or more.

In terms of players having the highest share of their team's receiving touchdowns, rookies comprise four of the top seven players in the NFL. San Francisco tight end George Kittle (6 of 10) leads the way, but the Chargers' Ladd McConkey (4 of 8) and Nabers (3 of 6) are both next, with Harrison and Thomas (5 of 11) close behind.

Jets rookies nowhere to be found

Not only have the Jets struggled to a 2-6 start and already fired their coach, they're flailing with an older cast of players. New York has gotten very little impact from its rookies this season. First-rounder Olu Fashanu, one of six offensive linemen taken in the top 20 picks, had a single snap in Sunday's loss and has been primarily a backup, the only one of those top six not to be a regular starter. The Jets gave up their second-round pick to get Aaron Rodgers, and their third-round pick, receiver Malachi Corley, continues to be marginalized by veterans brought in for Rodgers and has one catch for four yards all season.

Are Aaron Rodgers and the Jets finished after dropping to 2-6?

The Jets actually had more impact on Sunday from undrafted rookies than their draft class, which mustered only 26 snaps on offense. Fourth-round running back Braelon Allen, who showed promise in the first month of the season, had a short touchdown run Sunday but has now averaged less than three yards per carry in each of his past four games.

Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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