The finished product wasn't going to appear in Week 1 of Year 1, so exhale and wait a while. Instead of a fully assembled Lego set complete with levers and ladders, bells and whistles, they found a bazillion parts and an instruction manual. Now comes the work: building Jayden Daniels into the franchise pillar he is supposed to be.
Daniels's first game featured 17 completions on 24 attempts for a pedestrian 184 yards. What stood out more: The absolute danger he can provide running. He gained 88 yards and scored twice on 16 attempts. He is fast. He is shifty. Pen him in, and then he's gone.
Daniels finished his debut with the same number of touchdowns as lost helmets: two. For this season and his career to progress as designed, that first number has to go up, and the second one needs to stay about where it is.
'Honestly, I'm just playing football back there,' Daniels said. Ah, the carefree, c'est la vie attitude of youth. So refreshing.
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