Commanders QB Jayden Daniels Delivers Awful First Pitch At Washington Nationals Game

The Washington Commanders and their fans are rightfully excited about their new quarterback, Jayden Daniels. With the second pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the team picked what it hopes will finally be a franchise QB. 

On Sunday, prior to their game against the Atlanta Braves, the Washington Nationals invited the rookie to throw out the first pitch at Nationals Park. 

Given that Daniels throws footballs for a living, one might think that he would be able to throw baseball pretty well. It turns out, though, that his form and execution both leave a lot to be desired. 

Daniels' pitch was not only in the left-handed hitters' batter's box, but also short-hopped the catcher. An all-around terrible performance for a professional athlete, sorry to be so blunt. 

Ultimately, this doesn't matter. Jayden Daniels is going to be judged by what he does on the football field. Plus, he's far from the first NFL player to have a poor showing on the mound prior to an MLB game. 

Chicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore threw one in the dirt last summer. Travis Kelce also failed to reach home plate at a Cleveland Guardians game in his first attempt, before getting a redemption appearance later for the Kansas City Royals. 

 Rob Gronkowski took the easy way out and did his patented "Gronk Spike" rather than actual trying to throw a good pitch. 

Those are all pass-catchers, though, and not pass-throwers. 

Washington Commanders rookie QB Jayden Daniels threw the first pitch at the Nationals game on Sunday and it wasn't very good.

(Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

New Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson fired a strike before a Pirates game earlier this year, but that's an unfair comparison because Wilson played baseball in college and was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in 2010. 

While I wouldn't expect Daniels to throw a better pitch than Wilson, I did expect him to throw better than the wide receivers and tight ends. 

At the end of the day, though, it's all about how well he throws the football and not the baseball. We'll find out about that latter skill in about three months.