JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
For most rookie quarterbacks, the pressure of leading a team - it can leave them frazzled. But Jayden Daniels is not like most quarterbacks.
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UNIDENTIFIED COMMENTATOR #1: Good projection aired out. McLaurin - he's got it.
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UNIDENTIFIED COMMENTATOR #1: First and goal inside the five, in a beauty from the rookie Jayden Daniels for 56.
SUMMERS: If he and the Washington Commanders beat the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday in the NFC Championship, Daniels will become the first rookie quarterback to lead his team to the Super Bowl. Daniels' and the Commanders' success may have fans reminiscent of another quarterback who once donned the burgundy-and-gold helmet.
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UNIDENTIFIED COMMENTATOR #2: No. 17, Doug Williams.
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UNIDENTIFIED COMMENTATOR #3: And Williams, going deep. Sanders beats Haynes. Sanders out in front - 80 yards touchdown.
SUMMERS: Doug Williams led the Commanders to a Super Bowl victory in 1988, making him the first Black quarterback to play in and win a Super Bowl. He has been working closely with the team and Daniels this season as a senior adviser, serving as a kind of wisdom warrior for this rookie quarterback. And Doug Williams is here with us now. Welcome to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
DOUG WILLIAMS: Hey, what a blessing to be here, man. Any time you're talking about Jayden Daniels, man, it makes me smile. Let me say that.
SUMMERS: Even if you're not a Commanders fan, I mean, this has been a remarkable season to watch as he steps into leadership. How would you describe the way that his season's shaped up until this point?
WILLIAMS: I think when you look at where we are today and where we was last year, at the end of the year, and to be here is a blessing, No. 1. But I think No. 5 is the catalyst (ph) of the whole thing. You know, but there's a reason for that, too, because nobody beats Jayden in the building. I mean, you come here, 6:30 in the morning, he's already been here. I mean, you leave at 6 o' clock at night, he's still here. And I think that's a testament to where he is today is what he put in it - that's what he's getting out of it.
SUMMERS: I mean, I spend most Sundays glued to my TV, but for people who aren't big football fans like I am, I just want to describe what it's like to watch him. I mean, he's almost like this sort of electric current on the field. He's got these quick legs. And when you watch him, you get the sense that - it almost looks like he's someone with seasons more experience than he actually has under his belt. I wonder, for you, as someone who works with him, as someone who knows him, where have you seen the biggest growth from him over this season?
WILLIAMS: You know, as a quarterback, No. 1, you know, I wasn't running quarterback, so I hate to see him when he break out the pocket. But today's game, you got to have a guy who could move around the pocket. It's a plus. I think the game itself - learning the game, knowing all the nuance of where he should go with the ball, when, when to get out the pocket, when to move in the pocket - it's just stuff like that. If you watch him, a lot of rookies don't do that.
SUMMERS: I got to ask you about some history. This year, almost half of the starting quarterbacks in the league were Black, but I don't have to tell you it didn't always look that way. How do you think that your success paved the way for other Black quarterbacks, like Jayden Daniels, like Lamar Jackson on the Ravens and others? Is it something that you think about often these days?
WILLIAMS: I do think about it, and the thing about that is the fact that I had an opportunity to play in the Super Bowl in 1988 - was the first one to do that and win it. The thing that comes in my mind all the time is the guys that didn't have an opportunity like I had, that came before me. And I always think about those guys.
But at the same time, I look at what's in front of me, too. And just like you just said, 15 guys this year started at the quarterback position. And I said this in an interview probably about a year or so ago. My statement was that within the next 5 to 10 years, half of the league quarterbacks was going to be Black. But I think I was a little bit behind. It's already here.
And it's not because they're Black. It's not because the - of the color of their skin. It's because they're the guys who can play. And I think, you know, we should have been here a long time ago, and we just getting to the point that you put the best guy on the field. And I think that's what is happening at this time.
SUMMERS: We've been talking with Doug Williams. He's a senior adviser for the Washington Commanders and Super Bowl XXII Champion. Doug, thank you so much, and looking forward to a good game on Sunday.
WILLIAMS: Thank you. Appreciate you all for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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