Analyst addresses Commanders' Jayden Daniels vs. Drake Maye draft debate

NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah has addressed what he's hearing regarding the Washington Commanders making either LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels or North Carolina signal-caller Drake Maye the second pick of the draft. 

"In talking to coaches and executives around the league, they're like overwhelmingly convinced around the league that this is Jayden Daniels, that this is going to be the pick there at No. 2," Jeremiah explained, according to Eric Edholm of the NFL's website. "I like Jayden Daniels a lot. I like all these three quarterbacks. That seems to be the expectation from folks around the league, but again...anybody that said they know exactly what Washington is doing is lying, because I don't think [general manager Adam Peters] is saying a word."

A week ahead of the draft, it seems the only guarantee regarding April 25 is that the Chicago Bears will make USC star Caleb Williams the No. 1 pick. Washington was repeatedly linked with Daniels at No. 2 throughout March, but one anonymous AFC national scout predicted as recently as Wednesday that the Commanders could select Maye. Meanwhile, a different report from early April said that J.J. McCarthy of Michigan "may be QB1 for both" Washington and the New England Patriots. 

The Patriots hold the draft's third pick and are expected to spend that asset on a signal-caller. 

"I’ve been connecting them to Drake Maye for a long time," Jeremiah said about the Commanders, according to Gayle Troiani of NESN. "I just felt like that fit there. I think about (Washington head coach Dan Quinn) going to a Super Bowl with Matt Ryan (with the Atlanta Falcons), and what Matt Ryan was coming out, strengths, weaknesses, and I thought it actually married up pretty well with Drake. So that had been my connection there."

In mock drafts updated this week, four of six CBS Sports analysts predicted Washington will take Daniels at No. 2. The other two CBS personalities linked the Commanders with Maye. 

As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed Daniels as the betting favorite at -350 odds to be the draft's second pick. At that same time, Maye was second on the list to go No. 2 at +270 odds. McCarthy was third at +950.