The Washington Commanders used their No. 2 overall pick to take LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels. Here is a full transcript of his first press conference with the media.
On what the moment of him getting drafted felt like for him:
"That my childhood dream came true and I'm blessed to be here and be able to hear my name called. I can't wait to get to work, you know, just be able to spend that time with family. Two of my closest friends in Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas and share this special moment with them too."
On how far into the process he felt like it was trending on him coming to Washington:
"Honestly, they did a pretty good job. You know, not showing their hand too much, but the conversation I had, I was pretty confident based off the conversation that we had that I was able to come here and fit into the Commanders team. You know, I'm here now. I can't wait to get to work."
On the offensive pieces on the roster:
"I'm excited. I'm excited to come in and get to work. I know [WR] Jahan [Dotson] previously just, you know, we're kind of around the same age. Obviously, what [WR] Terry [McLaurin] has done at the next level. You got a great running back in [RB] Brian Robinson [Jr.]. You know, [RB] Austin Ekeler, those guys are very explosive players. New additions with [TE] Zach Ertz. I'm just happy to come in and learn how to be a pro. I'm excited to get to work. I'm excited to meet my new teammates."
On his first impression of Head Coach Dan Quinn and the offensive staff:
"It was awesome. DQ is a great guy that a lot of people speak highly of about who he is as a person and how he cares about his players. So, I was excited to be around him and the offensive staff. You know, their track record speaks for itself. Obviously [Offensive Coordinator] Kliff [Kingsbury] was over there with [Arizona Cardinals QB] Kyler [Murray] and what he did as a head coach, and for quite some time he had Kyler in the MVP conversation. So, I was excited to be here and just chop it up and talk ball with him."
On how he embraces the responsibility of helping the franchise move in the right direction:
"Man, it just starts with, I'm just coming to compete. I'm coming in and really just trying to play my role whatever that is. I just want to be the best teammate to help the team win and we can bring back some victories back to D.C., to the DMV and have some fun."
On if he would have been surprised if his name wasn't called second overall:
"No, I mean, it's other great candidates that would be able to be the number two overall pick. So, I'll never look at it like that. God put me in this position, obviously. My story is written and I'm just following the path and following his lead. So, if it wasn't meant for me to be here, then you know there's great other quarterbacks that could have been here too. But I'm excited to get to work now."
On what former teammates he has leaned on as a resource from inside the league:
"[San Francisco 49ers WR] Brandon Aiyuk a lot. I talk to him, three-four times a day almost every day, so I lean on him a lot. And you know, he's done it at a high level for four-plus years going on his fifth year. So, I'm excited just to learn from him and try to get some game but also just coming in and getting to learn from my teammates now. They started off and I'm happy I get to follow them."
On how he feels about new leadership in Washington and on what makes him excited to be part of the vision of the franchise:
"I'm very confident. Obviously, it's a new regime there and, you know, I'm excited just to come in and really just change the culture and help the team win in each and every way that I can. Come in, work hard and we'll see where the course takes itself."
On what he learned about GM Adam Peters throughout the Pre-Draft process:
"Yeah, I mean AP, he's a dude. He's able to, coming from his lineage, obviously he was with the 49ers recently. Obviously what they do over there is tremendous, how they're competing, they're contenders. So, I'm very confident in him that he gets this thing changed around and just follow his lead. I think he's very confident, I'm very confident in him and I'm excited to see what the future holds."
On what Peters said to him when he got the call:
"Man, he was excited and respected my journey. He respected how hard I work, the amount of work that I put in to get to this point now, so that's pretty much what he said."
On how he would describe himself and his style of play:
"A competitor, a leader, but somebody that just wants to win at all costs and help the team win no matter what because it's team first always, so I'm excited."
On how much he is thinking about his first moment taking the field and hearing the fans cheer:
"I mean, I'm kind of in the moment now, man. I just got drafted, it's a childhood dream. So, later down the road I'll be very excited to go out there and embrace the fans and have the fans embrace me no matter what the role is and I'm excited."
On his message to the fans:
"You're going to get somebody that's a competitor, that wants to win no matter what. And I just want to go ahead and compete. I want to help the team win football games. At some point in the future, we'll get this thing turned around, hopefully, but take it day-by-day. I'm willing to work and put everything out there on the line."
