Jayden Daniels and Virtual Reality: The Tech-Savvy Rookie powering the Commanders’ comeback
Jayden Daniels is utilizing a Virtual Reality tech by a German company Cognilize to train better and put in 250-300 extra reps per week.
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Jayden Daniels (Image via Open Source/X)
The Washington Commanders have earned the title of comeback team of the year. Under new ownership, the franchise has undergone a remarkable transformation by appointing Dan Quinn as head coach and drafting Jayden Daniels as their franchise quarterback. They further strengthened their arsenal with Kliff Kingsbury, whose player-focused approach brought out the best in the team.
In the grand scheme of things, the Commanders had one more weapon in their armory. As Jayden Daniels stands at the cusp of making history, the dagger that sharpened him is what makes him the ‘Modern Quarterback’ or ‘the Quarterback 2.0’. The Commanders have fetched the help of Virtual Reality to help Daniels train better than most of the quarterbacks, making him look like a veteran rather than a rookie learning the ropes.
Daniels has been using the tool since his LSU days, helping him become a Heisman winner and an eventual second-overall pick. The new quarterback training tool developed by the German company Cognilize was initially meant for soccer. However, Daniels’ performance in the recent past has alluded that the tool is a fit for the gridiron footballers as well.
The company, developed by Verina Kau and Christian Hartman, was first used by Daniels ahead of a game against the Mississippi State in 2023 after LSU Directors of Performance Innovation Jack Marucci and assistant Mario Macaluso okayed practice with the advancing technology. In that first game, Daniels had 30-for-34 completions, 361 passing yards for 4 total TDs.
Speaking about the technology with the Athletic, Daniels acknowledged that the simulations run in the tech are much faster than the real-life games.
It moves faster within the VR than actual human beings. Once you get out there, everything slows down. I know this is coming. I’ve seen this before, (and) it moved more than 20 times faster in VR.
Jayden Daniels said
The quarterback can understand moves ahead of time, anticipate, and make quick reflexes to avoid being sacked while maintaining precision. In fact, Daniels has more games (3) with 0 punts, and 0 turnovers than Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, and Joe Montana combined.
How has Cognilize helped Jayden Daniels to become a better QB?
The technology enables quarterbacks with speed. The speed in the VR is 1.75 times faster than actual games with the defenses coming onto the QB super fast. Kliff Kingsbury, the OC, was reportedly taken aback when he used the technology. He also praised the innovations in the sport in the same The Athletic interview.
The first time I put it on, I backed into the wall. It felt like the (pass) rush was coming… I’m all in on it. I mean, it’s an unbelievable technology.
Jayden Daniels added
Daniels’ continued practice using the technology makes his brain adapt to the pace of the simulations. The 2023 Heisman winner, therefore, tends to feel things around him are much slower. Cognilize’s initial idea was to provide young footballers with potential opportunities to train extra without the additional wear and tear associated with training. Similarly, Daniels can do so, which enabled the brain rewiring. The pure neural adaptation has helped him to stay injury-free while training for the circumstances.
The technology has features that are detailed to the point of the scoreboard in every NFL location and real-time player calls from the coaches on the sidelines. There are custom-built simulations for each opponent team, incorporating their mode of play and roster depth.
The quarterback now heads into the NFC Conference game against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles and Commanders won one game each in the regular season against each other. The Eagles are one of the most formidable defenses of the season and possess a stronger offensive unit as well. Saquon Barkley would be one of Washington’s biggest threats to making Daniels the first rookie to lead a team to the Super Bowl.
Related: Skip Bayless admits being “sick” of NFL protecting Patrick Mahomes: “Prisoner of the Swifties”
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Mohammed Bazim
(425 Articles Published)