Eagles’ nucleus of Georgia defenders is all too familiar with Washington QB Jayden Daniels: ‘That boy, he’s a star’

The lasting image of Jalen Carter’s college career now features two budding stars making an impact in the NFC East.

There’s Carter, at the forefront of a dominant Georgia defense in the 2022 SEC championship, celebrating a sack by hoisting the opposing quarterback in the air with one arm and pointing to the sky with the other. It was a photo good enough to be displayed in his mother’s office going into his rookie season with the Eagles along with newspaper cut-ups and photos from his high school career in Apopka, Fla. It’s still the featured image on Georgia’s bio page for Carter as well, one that foretold more than just the rout the Bulldogs pulled off against LSU that December.

There’s Jayden Daniels, one year before some dominance of his own as the starting quarterback for LSU and a few years before leading a surging Washington Commanders team into Thursday night’s game against the Eagles with first place in the division hanging in the balance.

“That boy, he’s a star,” Carter said of the upcoming matchup against a familiar face. “I saw him in college, played against him, when we played him at LSU. ... He was moving around, he can run, he’s a good mobile quarterback. We’ve just got to contain him this week. I’ve seen what he can do, he’s been showing what he can do in the league so far since the beginning of the season. That’s got to be our main focus.”

Daniels has been on a steady rise since the last time Carter lined up across from him. The 23-year-old won the Heisman Trophy in 2023 and went No. 2 overall in April’s NFL draft as a result of his ability to change games both operating out of the pocket or on the run.

» READ MORE: How Lane Johnson became Jalen Carter’s unlikely mentor on the Eagles

He’s off to a fast start in the NFL as well; Daniels ranks in the top 10 in most passing metrics so far this season, including passer rating, yards per attempt, and completion percentage. He also ranks second behind only Lamar Jackson in estimated points added per play, an efficiency metric that measures how well a given play does over the expectation.

“He’s come out on fire,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “He’s got his team playing really well. Hats off to their coaches. ... He’s going to the right place with the football, being accurate, the things he can do when things do break down. I have got a lot of respect for him, and we’ll have our hands full.”

Eagles cornerback Kelee Ringo, who was also part of the Georgia defense that faced Daniels along with Carter and edge rusher Nolan Smith, said Daniels’ quick transition to the NFL didn’t come as a surprise to those who played against him in college.

Daniels left that 2022 game early after aggravating an ankle injury, giving way to current LSU starter Garrett Nussmeier, the son of Eagles quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier. Still, watching Daniels’ film in the lead-up to the game and again in the lead-up to Thursday, Ringo said the progress he has made is apparent.

“Just watching film on him, he looks really comfortable back there,” Ringo said. “Of course, he’s able to stay in the pocket as well. And he’s going against a lot of better athletes ... but he’s still using his athletic ability when he needs to.

“I wasn’t surprised at all. His college tape speaks for itself, and he’s just been able to translate that to the league.”

Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio noted Daniels’ level of comfort in Washington’s offensive system. The Commanders hired Kliff Kingsbury in the offseason, which has led to the former Arizona Cardinals and Texas Tech head coach implementing a scheme that features college concepts similar to what Daniels ran at LSU and at Arizona State before that.

“He’s a really good player, highly talented,” Fangio said. “I think they’re running an offense that he’s very comfortable in, and he’s got a lot of good players around him. I think it’s an accumulation of all that.”

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Daniels has been a threat in the zone-read game this season as a result. Through 10 games, Daniels has 14 runs of 10 yards or more and ranks second behind Jalen Hurts in rushing EPA/play and sixth in yards per carry.

Fangio acknowledged that the Eagles haven’t seen many quarterbacks who pose as much of a threat in the running game as Daniels this season, saying the defensive front will need to be disciplined to contain him.

Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean missed Daniels in the SEC by one year but said he was well aware of the quarterback once he transferred to LSU to become the newest threat to Georgia’s conference title hopes.

“I was big on watching the Georgia boys, and when the SEC championship came around and it was LSU versus Georgia, I was definitely big on it then,” Dean said. “I lost my SEC championship versus Joe Burrow and them, so I was definitely tuned in.”

Although Daniels’ ability to create as a runner has been instrumental in Washington’s 7-3 start, he’s coming off one of his worst games of the season. In a 28-27 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Daniels managed just 5 rushing yards on three attempts.

Fangio said the Steelers’ success mostly came from sending five or more rushers against the pass, something the Eagles may have to adopt at times while also accounting for Daniels’ ability to keep the ball on running plays.

“We’ve got to be assignment-sound, make sure we always have a guy available to play that quarterback if he pulls it,” Fangio said. “He’ll pull it sometimes with blockers. He’ll pull it sometimes with just himself there if you overplay the run. You’ve got to be assignment-sound.”

The Eagles play in Week 11 against the Washington Commanders. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest storylines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from Lincoln Financial Field.