No. 2 overall pick and 2023 Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels will be the Washington Commanders' starter for the 2024 season, head coach Dan Quinn announced Monday afternoon.

Daniels, who completed 10-of-12 passes for 78 yards during the Commanders' preseason game against the Miami Dolphins, has earned the opportunity to lead Washington's offense after weeks of confirming what the staff already believed about his skill set. He is set to make his regular-season debut against the Tamp Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 8.

"I thought he had another really good outing," coach Dan Quinn said after the Commanders' preseason game against the Dolphins. "The accuracy, the decision-making of where to go. He really is a unique competitor."

Quinn said at the start of training camp that the decisions made about Daniels' playing time were not a secret but a journey. The team has been intentional with his workload and snap count, starting with the move to have him behind veteran Marcus Mariota until he was ready for the next steps in his progression.

As Daniels went through camp, it became clear that him being named the starter was more an inevitability than a possible outcome. Through the first three weeks of camp, Daniels flaunted many of the traits that convinced Washington to take him in the first round, from his ball placement and accuracy to his work ethic that drives him to be the first player at the facility.

"He naturally has a good feel of where to position the ball, whether it's an in-breaking route, out-breaking route, a ball down the field," said wideout Terry McLaurin. "A lot of the things, he just naturally has the ability to have a feel for the game, which is very unique for any quarterback, but let alone a rookie."

Daniels' coaches have praised his ability to not only retain information but implement it and improve each day. As his comfort level in Kliff Kingsbury's offensive scheme increased, so, too, did his snap counts in practice. He went from getting reps with the starters in certain situations to leading whole periods with the first group. Over the past two weeks, Daniels has exclusively worked with the starting offense.

Throughout the process, Daniels chose to be patient and focus on overcoming the obstacles that were put in front of him.

"I like competing; I'm a competitor," Daniels said. "Regardless of if I was announced the starter or not, you still gotta compete. You still can't be content [with] your job, [be] comfortable and think it's just your job and seal the deal. You gotta compete."

Daniels' biggest tests came during the Commanders' joint practices and preseason games with the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, both of whom had top 10 defenses in 2023 and excelled at generating sacks. While the rain and lack of starters on the offensive line did prevent him from making many explosive plays against the Jets, Daniels did show off his accuracy with passes to Dyami Brown in one-on-one drills and Zach Ertz, who has become one of his most reliable targets, in team drills. It was enough for his opponents to see that Daniels has special traits that will help him succeed at the professional level.

"I just told him like, 'Man, you're gonna be real good,'" said Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner. "It was great to just be able to line up against him. As a corner, you wanna go against a rookie quarterback, but he's one of those guys like he's developed obviously...but he had some great throws out there."

Daniel started in the preseason game against the Jets and led the Commanders on an 11-play, 70-yard drive, highlighted by a 42-yard completion to Brown that he checked into on third down.

"It was a really cool play; I think it probably illustrates for him the awareness in the checks and the things that go into it," Quinn said. "Yeah, he did not ask for permission, so he went ahead and buzzed the tower anyways. It was a really cool play."

Daniels looked even more impressive in the joint practice and preseason game against the Dolphins, who ranked 10th in yards allowed in 2023. Although Daniels threw two interceptions in practice, he shined in red zone drills, tossing five touchdowns -- two of which went to McLaurin.

In the game, Daniels converted two third downs on his opening drive and led the offense to a field goal on his second.

"He's almost like a vet out there," Brown said of Daniels after the game. "He's having a lot of fun with it, and at the end of the day, you can't ask for too much more out of him. He understands what's going on. He understands ball placement. He understands defenses. Just him coming in and having that confidence like that, I don't think he's a rookie."

Daniels' first regular season game will be on the road against the Buccaneers -- a playoff team last season that upset the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round -- led by defensive-minded head coach Todd Bowles. The Commanders, and Daniels' teammates, are confident he can handle his next challenge.

"Everybody should be excited, just from that little sneak peek," said guard Sam Cosmi. "I know I am. I know the guys are fired up. I think we got a dude back there."