Jayden Daniels sat in the media tent -- three training camp practices now under his belt -- addressing reporters with a smile on his face as he was peppered with questions about his future as the Washington Commanders' starting quarterback.

Daniels understands the curiosity; he was the No. 2 overall pick back in April, and the Commanders, who have hunted for a franchise quarterback for the better part of three decades, didn't take him with their first pick to be a backup.

But Daniels looked unbothered as he provided each question with honest answers, just as he's unbothered by the fact that head coach Dan Quinn has yet to name a starter for the season. Quinn described that process as a journey -- one that has only just started.

Daniels can't control when Quinn and general manager Adam Peters makes that decision, but he can control how he approaches it. He's choosing to use his time by embracing competition.

"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."

Quinn laid out a clear structure for how the quarterback position was going to function for at least the next few weeks of camp. Some days might feature more of either Daniels or Marcus Mariota than the other, but that shouldn't be taken as an indicator of someone "winning" the starting job.

Quinn doesn't view it as a motivational tactic. In fact, he added that Daniels is "an extremely motivated player" without any extra help from the coaching staff. It speaks more to his approach to the team. He has encouraged competition from the start of his tenure, and that applies to all positions.

"As we're going through this whole process, let's make sure if we are going to be about the competition and how things are going to go, we're not going to miss one step of their development and that's what this time of year is for," Quin said.

Treating every position the same falls in line with how Daniels wants to be treated. Although he is confident in his skill set, he doesn't view himself as a Heisman Trophy winner and star quarterback who is coming to the NFL to "save" the Commanders franchise. When asked about that during OTAs, Daniels brushed it off and replied that he's just a rookie.

Daniels wants to be a leader, but he also wants to earn that right.

"That's just me. I'm never gonna put myself out there in the spotlight to think I'm bigger than anybody, better than anybody," Daniels said. "Everybody's equal on the field. You gotta go out there and compete each and every day."

Quinn has kept true to his word when it comes to divvying up the quarterback reps. Mariota and Daniels received about an equal number of snaps in the first three days of camp. Some periods featured Mariota working with the starters; others saw Daniels line up under center.

But the way the staff has structured the practice almost makes which quarterback goes first in the rotation an irrelevant detail. Receivers, tight ends and running backs rotate so often that both signal-callers get a roughly equal amount of time with all the skill players.

There's also Daniels' actual performance to consider. While there have been some growing pains -- he threw his first interception of camp on Friday -- Daniels has largely succeeded at the tasks assigned to him. He gets the ball out quickly, reads the defense, commands the huddle and has delivered some impressive throws like his touchdown pass to Mitchell Tinsley on Day 2.

He's embracing Quinn's desire to get the most out of every step of his development.

"For me it's not a problem at all," Daniels said. "That's up to DQ and AP for the decisions and stuff like that, but for me I can control how hard I go out there and practice and how I compete."

Quinn said that the Commanders, and Daniels himself, will know when he's ready to be named the starter. For now, Daniels will settle with being ready to embrace whatever comes his way.

"You got to be able to embrace everything that comes with it, the good and the bad," Daniels said. "So, for me it's how can I prepare myself mentally, physically, emotionally to go out there and compete every day on the practice field and then help out when it comes game time if my name is called."

Here are some more observations from Day 3 of camp

-- As mentioned above, Daniels threw his first interception of camp. He was targeting Davion Davis on the play, but cornerback Michael Davis made a break on the ball and came down with the pick.

-- The Commanders are continuing their "ramp up" process, and the day started with more of an emphasis on running the ball. Both Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler had solid runs up the middle of the defense, but the most exciting moment came when Daniels pulled the ball and took off down the left side of the field. Though scrambling is not a central part of his skill set, it's another wrinkle that should make it more difficult to defend him if used at the right moment.

-- Although Daniels' days wasn't as crisp as the first two practices, he still had some solid moments. He completed his first six passes of seven-on-seven drills, hitting Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson and Ekeler with his first throws.

-- Brandon Coleman continues to show improvement working at left tackle. His quickness and arm length have been praised as two of his best attributes, and both were needed while working against Dante Fowler in 11-on-11 drills. He stayed engaged with the defensive end throughout the play, keeping himself between Fowler and the quarterback.

-- Sam Hartman got some of his first reps in two-minute drills and looked poised directing the offense. He completed both passes on the drive, including a deep shot to Olamide Zaccheaus near the right sideline.

-- Emmanuel Forbes' size has been a concern since he was drafted last year, but Quinn said the cornerback worked on bulking up this offseason. He said Forbes put on 15 pounds over the summer, although Forbes was quick to point out that it was actually 17 pounds.

"That's a big step in the right direction," Quinn said. "So, it's a matter of hitting all the spots to go. Tackling that part of things, that's a big piece of it, but until you go through some of the games and that you're not really able to demonstrate that but you can show markers. 'My body feels different, I'm stronger.' Those are things that lead up to that, but you still have to go do it."