Coming into last season, the Washington Commanders looked to have a talented receiver room poised to make life tough on opposing secondaries. Their quarterback situation was a bit of a mess, though, which is driven home by the fact that neither Sam Howell (Seattle Seahawks) nor Jacoby Brissett (New England Patriots) are still with the club, replaced by No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels and journeyman Marcus Mariota, respectively.
While leading receiver Terry McLaurin returns, Curtis Samuel (62-613-4) signed with the Buffalo Bills, creating a lineup hole in the team hopes it filled with the selection of WR Luke McCaffrey. Jahan Dotson also is back, coming off a disappointing sophomore campaign.
Where this unit lands will have a lot to do with Daniels, and how ready he is to step in to deliver for new offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, who led some prolific offenses in college. Although we can expect some growing pains from the rookie, the pieces are in place for Washington to produce some fantasy-worthy receivers.
Terry McLaurin
Consistency, thy name is Terry McLaurin. Over the last four seasons, the Ohio State product has totaled between 75 and 90 receptions on 120-135 targets for 1,000-1,200 yards while scoring four or five TDs. There are two ways to look at that. The optimistic view is that McLaurin has established himself as a quality NFL receiver with four consecutive 1,000-yard campaigns on his resume. The pessimistic view is he has topped out a notch or two below the true difference-making No. 1s around the league.
We tend to side with the optimistic view for one reason: quarterback play. In five seasons, during which he has led the team in receiving each year, Washington’s leading passers have been Case Keenum, Alex Smith (no, really), Taylor Heinicke twice, and Howell. There isn’t a genuine QB1 among them, unless you count Smith, who was 36 and retired after the season. Watching McLaurin play tells you how talented and dangerous he is … though, at 29, his time to take another step is running out.
Jahan Dotson
After scoring seven touchdowns in 12 games as a rookie, expectations were high that Dotson would take another step in his second season. That didn’t happen. The 2022 first-rounder didn’t top 50 yards in a game until Oct. 29, and outside of a three-game stretch in Weeks 7-9, he surpassed the 40-yard mark only once last year. He was particularly ineffective late, combining for seven receptions, 83 yards, and no touchdowns over the final five games.
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There aren’t too many ways to put a positive spin on such a disappointing performance, but it’s far too early to abandon hope with wholesale changes in the coaching staff and under center. Dotson was the 16th overall pick for a reason. While he’s a bit undersized at 5-foot-11, 182 pounds, he has good speed and excellent ball skills. It’s a profile that looks like a good fit for Daniels, whose deep-ball accuracy is among his top traits.
Luke McCaffrey
With Samuel gone, the Commanders needed a new slot receiver. Enter McCaffrey, who began his collegiate career as a quarterback before transferring to Rice and converting to receiver. He’s a tough competitor with enough size and excellent hands, all of which could be attractive qualities to a young quarterback that doubtless will be instructed to play it safe at times. If the team doesn’t feel the rookie is ready, they could turn to veteran WRs Olamide Zaccheaus or Jamison Crowder.
Fantasy football outlook
Despite our optimism for McLaurin based on talent, his circumstances don’t exactly scream breakout candidate at this point. If he’d been a little more productive in the red zone, you might push him toward low-end WR2 territory given he’s on a four-year streak of topping 1,000 yards. As constituted, however, he feels more like a midrange No. 3 target on draft day who could return better value if Daniels proves to be dynamic right out of the gate a la Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud.
The shine will definitely be off Dotson among fantasy owners after he took a step backward last year, effectively burning anyone who banked on him making a leap. He’s not worth drafting as a fantasy starter, even in deeper leagues, but he’s a weak WR4 or, ideally, No. 5 consideration. You can stick McCaffrey on the watch list in case he proves to be a volume checkdown target for the rookie QB.
McLaurin is the only safe bet and the least likely to be negatively impacted by the likes of pass-catching veterans TE Zach Ertz and RB Austin Ekeler should they rebound.
