ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt did not mince words about Washington’s offense and Jayden Daniels’ play when asked about the Commanders rookie quarterback ahead of the teams’ game Monday night.
“They don’t make him do a lot,” Taylor-Britt said Thursday. “They keep it really simple for him. Nice college offense.”
Asked Friday, first-year offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said he had not heard Taylor-Britt’s comments.
“He’s entitled to his opinion,” Kingsbury said.
Daniels has completed 75.5% of his passes through his first two NFL games, and Washington is 1-1 with the league’s 10th-ranked offense.
“Kingsbury’s the OC, so they love to move guys around here and there,” Taylor-Britt said. “But just keep it really simple for him. I heard his pass percentage is very high, but he’s only throwing short routes — some intermediate stuff, quick throws.”
Kingsbury coached in college at Houston, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and USC and also in the pros with the Arizona Cardinals before taking a job on Dan Quinn’s staff.
Daniels has thrown for 410 yards and averaged 6.6 an attempt, which is in the bottom third of passers leaguewide. The bigger question around the Commanders is how Daniels can get the ball to top receiver Terry McLaurin, who has been targeted a team-high 12 times but has just eight catches for 39 yards.
Kingsbury called it a “fine line you walk.”
“At some point, we’ve got to find a way to get Terry the football and it really comes down to scheme and me getting him in the right spots to do that,” Kingsbury said. “It’ll come. I’m not worried that that connection will get there. It’s just Terry deserves to get the ball. He’s one of the best players in the league, and I’ve got to do a good job getting it to him.”
Kingsbury had nothing but praise for Daniels’ play, which has also included 26 runs for 132 yards and two rushing touchdowns. The No. 2 pick out of LSU who won the Heisman Trophy last year also has not turned the ball over so far.
“One of the best things he’s done is operate and get the ball to the right spot and take care of it,” Kingsbury said. “I think Jayden has executed the offense beyond what we could have anticipated for a rookie in his first two starts against good defenses.”
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