When the Washington Commanders selected North Carolina wide receiver Dyami Brown in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft, it was widely viewed as a steal. Washington badly needed another wide receiver to step up opposite of star Terry McLaurin, and Brown was coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons at UNC.
Unfortunately, Brown struggled as a rookie. While he appeared in 15 games and was credited with six starts, Brown caught only 12 passes for 165 yards and did not score a touchdown. His biggest impact came on special teams.
In 2022, the Commanders chose wide receiver Jahan Dotson in the first round. Not because they didn’t believe in Brown but because there were so many question marks at the position beyond McLaurin. Brown again appeared in 15 games, this time catching five passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns. The unique part of Brown’s season is two receptions, 105 receiving yards and two touchdowns came in one game against Tennessee.
Brown had two more receptions for 32 yards that season.
Last season, Brown played in all 17 games, catching 12 passes for 168 yards and one touchdown with his old college quarterback, Sam Howell, under center.
Now, Brown enters the final year of his rookie contract and he is not guaranteed to even make Washington’s 53-man roster. While the Commanders lost Curtis Samuel in the offseason, they re-signed Jamison Crowder, signed a pair of veterans, Damiere Byrd and Olamide Zaccheaus, and drafted Luke McCaffrey in the third round of the NFL draft.
Brown will face a lot of competition for at least three wide receiver spots on the 53-man roster.
So, while players are away from the team before reporting to training camp in around three weeks, Brown is putting in some serious work, as he shared on Instagram.
Brown is still only 24 and has a ton of potential. He has a third offensive coordinator in his fourth NFL season. He also has a new quarterback, Jayden Daniels, who throws an excellent deep ball — Brown’s strength.
Don’t count out Dyami Brown just yet. A new coaching staff could be exactly the reset Brown needed heading into the final year of his rookie deal.