John Beck: What to Expect from Jayden Daniels, Bryce Young & CJ Stroud in '26

John Beck has been throwing with Jayden Daniels in the offseason, and Rich wants the temperature reading. Beck splits sessions, so he sees pieces of the work, and the picture he paints is unambiguous. Daniels is ripping the ball, working harder than he did as a rookie, and treating the sophomore dip as fuel rather than evidence.

Beck zooms out before he answers. The NFL, he reminds Rich, is built on roller coasters. Exciting seasons get followed by ones that fall short of the new bar. That is the league. The dynasties everyone admires, the Niners with Montana and Young, the Patriots with Brady, are admired precisely because sustained excellence is so rare. Beck cites a Drew Brees clip he saw recently, where Brees described how every offseason the Saints would lead the league in a category and immediately ask, what are defenses going to do to take that away. The counter is the work.

That reframes the Commanders' year. Washington did not meet expectations, fine. For a young quarterback, Beck argues, that is a gift, not a verdict. The thing he worries about with Jayden is not motivation or talent or care, it is injuries. He does not want a hit to be the thing that derails a player who is athletic, smart, dedicated, and, importantly, not changed at all by the rookie-year noise.

Rich pivots to the rest of the 2024 quarterback class entering year four. Bryce Young, who looked like nature versus nurture gone wrong, a young head coach, a benching two games into year two, and then a transformation once he got back on the field. CJ Stroud, three straight playoff appearances, a playoff win, but a real question about whether he has hit his head on a week-two ceiling.

Beck answers by talking about the people around them. Carolina has added pieces around Bryce, and you can feel it. Houston, Beck thinks, has to do the same on the offensive side for CJ. He is not in those buildings, but he knows the pattern. When teams hit a block, that is when you start auditing. What do we add. What do we open up. What do we trust.

For Bryce specifically, Beck talks about the paradigm shift, the value of stepping back, gaining a different perspective, then stepping back in with a new outlook and trusting yourself to play. That, plus pieces like Tetairoa McMillan, the rookie who already looked the part, plus a playmaker like Coker emerging, is how you get the next jump. Rich nods along. It is what it takes. Not just the right guy at quarterback, but every piece around him. Year four for these three is a stress test, and Beck is betting on the work.