The first big domino of the NFL offseason has fallen, as the Washington Commanders swung a trade with the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night for star wideout Deebo Samuel. Washington entered this offseason determined to be aggressive, with a ton of cap space to burn and the memory of last season's run to the NFC Championship Game fresh in their minds. Wide receiver was an obvious area of need, with just about everybody not named Terry McLaurin set to become a free agent this spring.
Adam Peters addressed that need in a big way, and he didn't even wait until the start of free agency to do it. Samuel isn't the player he was at the peak of his powers, but he's still a YAC monster, the ideal slot partner for McLaurin and the ideal fit for the sort of screen- and RPO-heavy offense that OC Kliff Kingsbury wants to deploy. For the cost of a fifth-round pick and minimal financial commitment, that's a no-brainer.
But it's also just the beginning of what figures to be an offensive overhaul for Washington over the next few weeks. With so much up in the air and so many resources to work with, the sky is the limit, and the Commanders offense is likely to look much different by the time the dust settles. Here are three players for whom the writing is on the wall now that Samuel is on board.
3. WR Noah Brown
Picked up off the scrap heap after beating cut by the Houston Texans, Brown seemed to earn the trust of both Daniels and the coaching staff once he got his feet under him. But a promising season was cut short due to a rib injury, and while Brown was a feel-good story for a little while, the team needs to aim a bit higher as it continues to rebuild its receiver room.
Brown is a physical, solid player, but he's no more than a tertiary piece for an elite NFL offense. The Commanders still need a dynamic field-stretcher to put opposite McLaurin on the outside, especially given Samuel's decline in explosiveness over the past couple of years. Tee Higgins is the dream, but even if that doesn't come to pass, taking a couple of swings early in the NFL Draft could send Brown somewhere else in free agency.
2. RB Austin Ekeler
Ekeler has one year remaining on his contract, but the Commanders can free up some space by moving on, and the addition of Samuel figures to make his skill set a bit redundant in the context of this offense. Samuel isn't what he was at the peak of his powers, but he's still going to hoover up targets in the short areas of the field — targets that used to go to Ekeler — and even line up in the backfield depending on how creative Kingsbury wants to get. Washington needs help behind Brian Robinson, but it should look for a different kind of player either in the draft or free agency now that Samuel is here to serve as the sort of hybrid Ekeler excelled as in his prime.
1. WR Olamide Zaccheaus
Zaccheaus got a decent amount of run out of the slot for Washington last year, as the team cycled through several different options in the middle of the field. Samuel is here to solve that problem, though, and he should bump the team out of the market for another slot-only player who is more or less a poor man's Samuel. 2024 draft pick Luke McCaffrey is also still around as a slot option, meaning that Zaccheaus (and Jamison Crowder) will likely have to look elsewhere on the open market.