Antonio Williams is already making his case to be the Washington Commanders’ answer at wide receiver No. 2.
That might sound like a big leap for a third-round rookie, but this is where the Commanders are right now. The wide receiver room has been one of the main talking points in Ashburn all offseason, and even with the possibility of adding a veteran like Stefon Diggs still lingering, Washington appears content to keep moving forward with Terry McLaurin and a group of mostly unproven options.
That leaves the door wide open for someone to seize the job. After the first padded practice of camp, Williams may have taken a real step toward doing exactly that.
The Clemson receiver entered training camp with a profile that suggests he could become a short-yardage target who keeps drives alive, and his best-case ceiling has even drawn comparisons to Amon-Ra St. Brown. Early on, the rookie looks like he’s giving the Commanders something to believe in.
He’s not the only player in the mix, of course. Williams is battling Treylon Burks, Luke McCaffrey, Dyami Brown, and Jaylin Lane for the WR2 spot. Burks and McCaffrey are the only names that really stand out as serious challengers, though Burks has been limited at camp by a foot injury.
McCaffrey has been one of those offseason buzz names before, but the production still hasn’t matched the hype. Unless the Diggs-to-D.C. chatter turns into something real, Williams looks like the rookie best positioned to make this role his.
That matters because Washington still hasn’t found a steady running mate for McLaurin during the Jayden Daniels era. The team spent much of its 2024 breakout season leaning on Noah Brown as the No. 2 receiver, then turned to Dyami Brown late in the year after Noah Brown’s season ended with a kidney injury.
Last year brought another swing at the position when the Commanders traded for Deebo Samuel Sr., but that partnership didn’t stick. Samuel was pushed into lead receiver duties while backup quarterbacks handled most of the throwing, and Washington ultimately chose not to keep him. He’s now back with the San Francisco 49ers.
So the search continues.
For the Commanders, Antonio Williams is the latest player tasked with solving a problem they’ve yet to answer. The coaching staff will be hoping he can become the reliable starting-caliber receiver that McCaffrey and Lane have not.
As the No. 71 overall pick, he was brought in to matter. Early signs suggest he knows it.
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