The Washington Commanders are heading into 2026 with a simple hope: get Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin on the field together, and let the offense breathe again.
That pairing was electric in 2024. McLaurin finished his sixth NFL season with a career-high 13 touchdowns, and 12 of them came from Daniels, the 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
In the playoffs, McLaurin added three more touchdown catches from Daniels. For a first-year tandem, they looked as natural as any quarterback-receiver duo in the league.
Only one QB-WR combination was more productive that season: Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals. Burrow and Chase connected for 17 touchdowns in 2024, and their bond runs deep - dating back to LSU, they’ve played together for seven seasons, with 2024 marking their sixth year together. Daniels and McLaurin, by contrast, were just getting started.
Washington’s 12-5 season in 2024 didn’t happen by accident. It came with McLaurin finally paired with a true franchise quarterback, and it showed.
But the follow-up in 2025 never really got off the ground. McLaurin missed most of the offseason and training camp during a contract standoff before agreeing to a new deal two weeks before the season.
Then the injuries piled up. Daniels hurt his knee in Week 2 and missed Weeks 3 and 4.
McLaurin went down with a quad injury in Week 3, sat out a month, came back for one game, scored, then aggravated it and missed another month.
The result was brutal: Daniels and McLaurin shared the field in only three games last season, and in two of those Daniels left early with an injury. Washington’s fall from 12 wins to five was tied directly to that reality.
Still, there’s no shortage of belief that the story turns again in 2026. With both players healthy and working together throughout the offseason, in Virginia and beyond, John Daigle and Evan Silva of Establish the Run are expecting a major rebound.
"Terry McLaurin and Jayden Daniels are in for big bounce-back years," Daigle said. "We are only one season removed from this Commanders team going to the NFC Championship with the fifth-highest success rate and 5.5 yards per play, 10th in the league.
Last year, when Deebo Samuel was injured, McLaurin was targeted on 30% of his routes. David Blough is suggesting more play action from play action.
Jayden Daniels has averaged 8.5 yards per attempt, just 7.2 from shotgun."
Silva was equally bullish, while noting the uncertainty that comes with a new play-caller.
"There's no real track record to draw on of David Blough calling plays in the NFK," Silva said. "But it does seem like he was quietly pissed off at what (former OC) Kliff Kingsbury was doing because David Blough was on the Commanders staff for the last two years as their assistant quarterbacks coach. The things that he has said publicly, he's like, everything is like anti what Kliff was doing, David Blough is saying all the right things and I sort of trust him to enact those things because they all make sense."
Blough’s background matters here. He played for Kingsbury, and Kingsbury was the one who brought him to Washington in 2024.
There was also visible frustration from Dan Quinn about the offense, especially around the run game. Quinn wanted the Commanders to run the ball more, and Blough is expected to steer something closer to the kind of offense Ben Johnson runs with the Bears.
That shift could matter a lot for Daniels, especially with more play-action chances in front of him. It could also matter for McLaurin, after Blough said in February that his aim was to get him 10 targets per game.
If that vision holds, Washington’s offense should have a very different look in 2026 - and the Commanders may find themselves back in the playoffs.
In Other News...
Commanders Fans May Be Reconsidering That $96 Million Oweh Gamble
The Commanders did not hesitate when they handed Odafe Oweh a four-year, $96 million contract in free agency, betting big on an edge rusher they believe can lift a pass rush that needed more bite. Former tight end and team analyst Logan Paulsen came away impressed with what he saw during the offseason program, and that kind of internal buzz matters when Washington is trying to reshape the front under new defensive coordinator Daronte Jones.
Owehs early impression has only added to the optimism around a pass-rush group that has been reinforced in other spots as well. Washington brought in more help to chase quarterbacks, but the real question now is whether Oweh can turn those encouraging spring signs into the kind of consistent pressure that makes the rest of the defense work the way the Commanders envisioned when they made the deal. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders May Finally Have The Right Moment For Ben Sinnott
Washingtons offense is heading into a different phase after David Blough was promoted to offensive coordinator in place of Kliff Kingsbury, and that shift could matter for players beyond the obvious names like Terry McLaurin. Ben Sinnott is one of the more interesting watchpoints, because the second-year tight end is positioned to have a larger role as the Commanders adjust what they want to do structurally and how they want to feature the middle of the field.
Former tight end Logan Paulsen sees a path for Sinnott to benefit from the change in scenery and the change in scheme, even with Chig Okonkwo now in the building. He pointed to the way Trey McBrides role grew after coaching changes in Arizona, which is the kind of comp that hints at opportunity without guaranteeing it. For Sinnott, the question now is less about whether the opening exists and more about how quickly Washington turns it into real production. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Offensive Line Suddenly Has Fans Second Guessing Everything
The Commanders offensive line is drawing a fresh round of scrutiny after a recent all-32 ranking slotted the group 22nd in the league, a reminder that even with some major investment up front, the picture is still a work in progress. Washington has made Laremy Tunsil the highest-paid offensive lineman in the NFL, and that kind of commitment usually signals stability, but the rest of the unit has been in more of a shuffle than a finished state.
Nick Allegretti is now positioned to handle center after getting a one-year extension, Chris Paul is back on another one-year deal and set to battle Brandon Coleman for the left guard spot, and the front office has clearly left itself room to keep sorting things out. The biggest question for the Commanders is whether the current mix can become a reliable five-man group quickly enough, because the evaluation of this line still seems to hinge on what happens next rather than what has already been settled. [Read more 🡒]