The name of the game for the Washington Commanders this offseason has been to ensure that rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels will be as prepared as possible by the time their season opens on September 8th. To do that, the Commanders signed veteran running back Austin Ekeler in free agency to work alongside Brian Robinson Jr., brought in 12-year veteran Zach Ertz and rookie Ben Sinnott to bolster Washington's tight ends room, and added three new starters along the offensive line — Nick Allegretti, Tyler Biadasz, and 3rd Round pick Brandon Coleman.
The issue is, Washington's wide receivers room is among the most underwhelming and unproven groups in the league. Even with the start of the 2024 season just a few weeks away, new Commanders head coach Dan Quinn was willing to admit that the WR2 role within the offense was still up for grabs.
Not a single one of the four names that Dan Quinn mentioned inspires a great deal of confidence if you're a Commanders fan. Jahan Dotson has been pegged as Washington's eventual number two receiver since he was drafted with the 16th overall pick two years ago, but in 29 career games Dotson has only hauled in 84 receptions for 1,041 yards and 11 touchdowns. It's entirely possible that with steady quarterback play, Dotson could materialize into the guy that the Commanders have expected him to become, but knowing that higher upside options like George Pickens and Christian Watson went later in the draft than Dotson still stings.
The Commanders find themselves in a similar position with Dyami Brown, who was a 3rd Round pick in 2021 and has only 29 receptions in 47 career games. Olamide Zaccheaus was lost in the shuffle in Philadelphia last year, but had a pair of nice seasons in Atlanta in 2021 and 2022 as a secondary weapon. Luke McCaffrey, the younger brother of NFL Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey, was the 100th pick in this year's Draft, and should see some playing team even if he doesn't run away with the WR2 job.
Commanders' Terry McLaurin looks for 5th straight 1,000 yard season
In the 14th annual NFL Top 100 list, wide receiver Terry McLaurin was the only player on the Washington Commanders offense who made the cut. To be fair, this shouldn't come as a huge surprise. Since he was selected in the 3rd Round of the 2019 NFL Draft, McLaurin has been the only offensive constant in the nations capital. To make his year to year consistency even more impressive, it should be noted that McLaurin has caught passes from ten different quarterbacks in his five seasons in Washington.
With Jayden Daniels slated to be Washington's Week 1 starter, Terry McLaurin finally has a quarterback with Pro Bowl potential, and that could mean that the most productive season of McLaurin's young career is coming. Given the fact that the Commanders still don't have another pass catcher even near the caliber of McLaurin, it's possible that he could cruise to his 5th straight 1,000 yard season.
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