Jayden Daniels believes that "nothing's given in this world," so the surprise he felt when Dan Quinn told him that he would be the Washington Commanders' starting quarterback was authentic...even if it wasn't to everyone else.

"I didn't know what I was getting talked to about," Daniels told reporters Monday afternoon. "I thought they were gonna talk to me about my routine from this past game again. So, it was a surprise to me."

Washington's decision to put Daniels at the top of the depth chart was the culmination of the path the team had set the young quarterback on from the moment he was drafted in April. The Commanders could have skipped that process and given him that role from the start but chose instead to have him earn it, placing several obstacles in front of him to see how he would prove himself.

Like everything else over the past four months, Daniels embraced the journey to get to this point in his career.

"What DQ and them preach here is competition, and you gotta earn your right to stay," Daniels said. "You gotta earn your right on the field and in the position. So, to be able to go out and compete, it makes everybody better."

There was never really a doubt from the coaching staff that Daniels would hit his goals. They drafted him with the No. 2 overall pick based on their evaluations of his talent, study habits, leadership and work ethic. Still, they wanted to emphasize competition as a pillar of their new culture, so they had Daniels sit behind veteran Marcus Mariota and split reps while he learned how to be an NFL quarterback.

Daniels wasn't bothered by that approach; in fact, it was his preferred method.

"For me, it's like what DQ and them said early on," Daniels said. "They got a plan, and they didn't want to go out there and 'Oh hey, you're the starter." ... I haven't earned anything. What I did in college was great. Now it's time for a new slate, clean slate."

For the past four months, Daniels has not only affirmed but risen above the Commanders' expectations for him on the field. He gets to the facility at 5:45 every morning to get extra work and implements the concepts his coaches teach him at a level that has impressed the likes of Quinn and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. Quinn already knew about those qualities, "but seeing it in your own building, on your own team, around new teammates, that was cool to see," Quinn said.

And the results of that work showed up on the field. He performed well in preseason games against the Jets and Dolphins, but it was during a practice prior to the team heading to Miami that let Quinn know he was ready to be the starter. Daniels only had one incompletion that day and wrapped things up by connecting with Terry McLaurin for a touchdown.

"The command of it, the accuracy, the details of it, that was one of the best practices I'd seen him have," Quinn said. "I think that was more in line with who he is, what he does, the checks, the calls, the communication, the delivery of the ball. He was just really on point. It was just cool to see all of that come to life."

As important as it is to produce, Daniels made building trust with his new teammates as much of a priority. He knew what he did in college, while impressive and record-setting, didn't matter in the NFL. What helped was that he wasn't asked to be a leader from the start of his career. His only task was to simply be himself.

"There's guys that's been in this league that are proven, so for me it's just knowing my role. They weren't looking at me because I got drafted where I got drafted to come here and be a leader."

And that approach worked out for Daniels, because it didn't take long for him to earn his teammates' respect.

"He's done a great job of handling all that, and we can always kind of help him through that," Mariota said early in training camp. "We can be that shoulder he can lean on. We can be that guy that he can lean to in terms of experiences and 'Hey, what happened here? How did you do that?' And he's done a great job asking questions too, so just kind of altogether helping him through that. But I really believe he's got a good head on his shoulders, he's handled it well."

And Daniels knows that camaraderie is just as important to winning games as putting up stats or studying defenses.

"[To] be able to go out there and see each other have success and want success for each other, that's big, it's big in the locker room. It's a brotherhood and we love each other. We want the best for each other. We're gonna push each other."

Daniels' official placement as the starter signals that Washington is starting to transition into preparing for the regular season. Daniels' debut will be on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers led by head coach and experienced defensive play caller Todd Bowles, who will certainly try to confuse the young quarterback as much as possible.

There's hope that Daniels will put an end to the quarterback problems that have plagued the franchise for over a decade, but Daniels still feels like he has something to prove. The fact that he was named the starter doesn't change that.

"People could talk about me as much as they want, good and bad," Daniels said. "All that matters is what's going on in that building, how I come every day to work, how my teammates view me, how my coaches view me, the people around, and how can we get better each and every day as a team."

And as happy as Daniels is that he was able to achieve a lifelong dream, he knows there is still plenty to do.

"Tomorrow we'll be back to work. We gotta get back to work. We got focus on this last preseason game and go from there."