The Washington Commanders are about to spend training camp answering one of the biggest questions left on the roster: who is WR2?
That conversation has been hanging over the offseason for months, and now it finally gets real in a matter of days. Terry McLaurin is signed and healthy, which clears one major issue off the board.
But it also sharpens the focus on the next one. Washington has to figure out who lines up opposite him, and right now there are more possibilities than answers.
The team has kept the search in-house so far, and that makes sense given the options already on the roster. Treylon Burks could make a push after a full, healthy offseason in the new playbook.
Dyami Brown has a chance to reclaim the draft value that once came with his name. Luke McCaffrey enters his third season with a shot to claim the job.
There’s even a path where all three show enough to complicate the decision. Training camp will have to sort through that mess, and a little luck will probably help too.
There’s also another possibility that has been sitting in the background: maybe the second option isn’t a wide receiver at all. Maybe it’s tight end Chig Okonkwo.
That idea has some appeal because Washington’s receiver room feels loaded with maybes, what-ifs, and slot types. The talent is there, but no one has created enough separation to make the depth chart feel settled.
Open competition seems necessary. If that still doesn’t produce a clear answer, the Commanders could always turn to free agency and add another body.
The catch is that by the time they work through what they already have, the remaining options on the street might not offer much more than the players already in camp.
This is a situation Washington can’t afford to misread. The offense is trying to start strong under new offensive coordinator David Blough, and the goal is to get quarterback Jayden Daniels back to the level he showed during his phenomenal rookie year. Waiting another season to add more weapons only makes Daniels more expensive and McLaurin’s remaining value a little thinner.
So the pressure is on now. Training camp should bring plenty of noise, some of it useful and some of it easy to dismiss. Washington’s challenge is to identify the real answers before the season starts to tilt from September into October.
Adam Peters has built his reputation on sharp roster moves and cap-conscious decision-making, and this year will be another important test of that approach in Washington. Daniels gives the Commanders a high-end starting point, and McLaurin gives them a true No. 1 who can move around. But once defenses adjust to take Terry away, someone else has to be there for Daniels.
The clock is ticking on whether that player is already on the roster.
In Other News...
Commanders Just Made A Quiet Move Their Secondary Desperately Needed
The Commanders have been looking for ways to shore up a secondary that needed more reliable depth, and they found a veteran answer in Rasul Douglas. Washington added the cornerback on a one-year deal as it starts building toward the 2026 season, a quiet move that fits a team trying to add experience without making a splashy overhaul.
Douglas brings a long track record and plenty of recent movement, having played for three different teams over the last three seasons. He also arrives with a reputation for steady production, giving Washington another proven option as it sorts out the back end of its defense and waits to see how the rest of the market shakes out. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Finally Put That Cornerback Rumor To Rest
Washington spent the offseason sorting through its cornerback options, and the answer it landed on was a familiar kind of veteran stability. Rather than chase a reunion with Trevon Diggs, the Commanders added Rasul Douglas on a one-year deal and moved forward with a group they believe better fits their plans on the back end.
Diggs is still on the market, but the bigger point for Washington is that Adam Peters and Dan Quinn clearly did not see him as the right swing to take right now. After leaving Dallas, he has not recaptured the same impact that once made him such an intriguing name, and the Commanders chose to address the position without waiting around for that version to reappear. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders May Already Have Aiyuk Backup Plan For Jayden Daniels
Washington has been doing its homework on ways to upgrade Jayden Daniels supporting cast, and the receiver market has already started to look more like a contingency board than a single-track pursuit. With Brandon Aiyuk appearing unlikely to land in the nations capital, the Commanders are at least kicking around other veteran names who could help stabilize the room and give Daniels another proven target.
DeAndre Hopkins has emerged as one of the more practical fallback ideas, the kind of low-risk addition that could bring depth and a steadying presence without forcing the offense to revolve around him. Stefon Diggs and Deebo Samuel Sr. have also been mentioned as possible options, but Hopkins stands out as a free-agent fit who could be pursued before training camp if Washington decides it wants more experience around its young quarterback. [Read more 🡒]