Jayden Daniels vaulted the Washington Commanders into Super Bowl contention far faster than anyone expected, leading the team to the NFC Championship Game to cap off a historic rookie season in 2024. But the team fell short against the Philadelphia Eagles, and now the question becomes: How can Washington surround its great young QB with enough talent to get over the hump?
There are plenty of areas to address, but few more acute than wide receiver, where just about everybody not named Terry McLaurin is set to hit free agency later this month. The Commanders were expected to be aggressive in restocking that room, and Adam Peters didn't disappoint: Washington swung a deal for former San Francisco 49ers Pro Bowler Deebo Samuel on Saturday night, bringing one of the league's premier YAC threats east for the relatively low cost of a fifth-round pick.
Samuel is in many ways a perfect running mate for Daniels and McLaurin, and a perfect fit for the screen- and RPO-heavy offense Kliff Kingsbury wants to run. But for as big a step forward as this move is, one look at Washington's updated receiver depth chart makes clear they need to be far from done.
Washington Commanders WR depth chart after Deebo Samuel trade
Rank | Name |
|---|---|
1 | Terry McLaurin |
2 | Deebo Samuel |
3 | Luke McCaffrey |
When we said that just about everybody not named Terry McLaurin was set to hit free agency this offseason, we really meant just about everybody. Dyami Brown, Noah Brown, Olamide Zaccheaus, Jamison Crowder — the depth chart is more or less undergoing a complete overhaul, with only 2024 third-rounder Luke McCaffrey currently under contract among the non-McLaurin receivers who caught a pass from Daniels last season.
Of course, this is more an opportunity than a problem. The Commanders had oodles of cap space with which to work, and just about every free agent or trade target would seemingly love the chance to play with a quarterback as young and exciting as Daniels. But the above depth chart does reiterate just how much work Peters has left to do in free agency and in the 2025 NFL Draft; McLaurin and Samuel are a great foundation upon which to build, a legit No. 1 and a middle-of-the-field threat to pair with him in the slot, but