The Washington Commanders' newest offensive lineman, Braeden Daniels, spoke with the media earlier today. Here are some of the highlights from his press conference.
On what this moment has been like for him:
"The moment was very exciting for me and my family. Something I've always been working for. I always been working towards. A dream goal of mine and excited to get to work."
On what stood out to him about his 30 visit to Washington:
"Really just the relationships that I built there. You know, I felt like they had some very phenomenal people. I felt like it was a place I could grow again, not only as a football player, but you know, as a man. I just thought it was a good all around feel and I loved the environment. Like I said, excited."
On how many teams he visited:
"I visited with Dallas. I visited y'all, and then I was on the West coast as well, so Seattle and like San Francisco was a couple of teams, and then just a lot of Zoom calls and stuff like that."
On what they asked him about on his visit here:
"It was really just going over and building the relationships. Like I know the offensive line coach, for example, he was like, we know you can play football, so let's just get to build that relationship. Really dial in on the details of the film and the game. How they do certain things and can I be coachable and can I adapt?"
On what his biggest strength is as a lineman:
"My versatility. My ability to play multiple, different positions. I'm gonna try and come in and be very versatile, play, tackle, play guard, and maybe even a little bit of center. Just blessed to be here and be able to use my God-given gifts to my advantage."
On if it's true that he has played center in practice:
"Yeah, I have center tape and I played it in my spring game, I believe two years ago. So I have film at center and I have the ability to play it and I feel confident in my ability to snap and all that. It is just really those game time decisions. Third and long, fourth and long, end of the game they blitz in. You gotta put people in the right position. That's something I'm still learning and getting used to."
On what spot he feels most comfortable in:
"The last two years I've been playing tackle, so I do feel comfortable at the tackle position. I feel like my arms, I have the length play it. I have athleticism and feet to play it. That's I've been playing that's where I comfortable right now. But, you know, I've played guard and I started at guard in my college career and I built some very good relationships and I'm excited to get to work with some of the coaches up there."
On what the draft process was like:
"Man, honestly it's time to get to work. Like I said, blessed to be here, gotta take opportunity and gotta excel. It is something that I've been working towards and like I said, excited. I feel like this, this moment right here is a sense of joy and I'm gonna take it in for the next couple hours and get to work."
On what parts of his game he is going to look to focus on early in his NFL career:
"Definitely just playing within my frame and hone on my strength and my quick twitch and getting faster."
