There has been a lot of talk this offseason about surrounding Jayden Daniels with more offensive weapons. Terry McLaurin had an All-Pro season in 2024, catching 82 passes for 1,096 yards and a career best 13 touchdowns, but the hunt to find a complement to him on the outside left more questions than it did answers.
Noah Brown looked to be that guy for a period of time before injury ended his season. Dyami Brown had some moments, especially during the Commanders three-game playoff run, but inconsistencies have plagued him throughout his four-year career, and he is set to become a free agent in March.
Offseason chatter has centered around pending free agents like Tee Higgins and Chris Godwin, and trade targets like Cooper Kupp, Garrett Wilson and George Pickens. The NFL draft has some intriguing guys like Emeka Egbuka, Tre Harris and Savion Williams.
However, is second-year receiver Luke McCaffrey being overlooked?
When Adam Peters used the 100th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft to select the former Nebraska and Rice athlete/wide receiver, the Commanders fanbase began plugging him into multiple scenarios where he could learn and grow alongside rookie Jayden Daniels and become the missing piece at wide receiver to help complement superstar Terry McLaurin.
Luke McCaffrey pick was a pretty damn good one. Unlike a few WR’s who were also on the board when we picked, Luke is better at running the ENTIRE route tree, is VERY good working out of his stem, has great inside/outside versatility, and is one of the best at contested catches.
— Mark Tyler (Hogs Haven) (@Tiller56) May 4, 2024
After starting out his collegiate career as a quarterback, Luke made the successful transition to wide receiver during his fourth year removed from high school and second with the Rice Owls after transferring from Nebraska. During his final two seasons at Rice, in 24 games played, McCaffrey caught 129 passes for 1715 yards and 19 touchdowns. He also added 265 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Scouts began to take notice of the 6’2” 198 pounder’s unique skill set during his final season at Rice, and by the time the combine was over, he was squarely planted on the NFL’s radar.
Pre-draft Measurables:
Luke McCaffrey is a WR prospect in the 2024 draft class. He scored an unofficial 9.56 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 137 out of 3090 WR from 1987 to 2024.
Splits projectedhttps://t.co/rkkHPO7KVu pic.twitter.com/TCv7DfoFrz
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 3, 2024
McCaffrey opened some eyes during training camp with his savvy route running and sure hands. Many projected him to supplant Dyami Brown as Washington’s number two, but once the regular season started, McCaffrey found himself on the outside looking in.
On the season in 17 games with four starts, he was targeted just 24 times posting 18 receptions for an underwhelming 168 yards (a 9.3 yards per reception average) and didn’t find the endzone.
He did make an impact as a kickoff returner, where he returned 10 kickoffs for 299 yards with a long of 47.
Luke McCaffrey with a big 47yd return pic.twitter.com/z4C9MCVrUV
— Mark Tyler (Hogs Haven) (@Tiller56) December 22, 2024
Make no doubt about it, McCaffrey has the skillset to make an impact in the league. With 4.4 speed, a 36” vertical and a remarkably quick 4.02 short shuttle, the son of Ed and brother of Christian is no slouch!
Jayden Daniels & Luke McCaffrey pick up the 4th down conversion!
: #WASvsCIN on ABC
: Stream on #NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/IGjfxr3iTU— NFL (@NFL) September 24, 2024
Incredible catch from @mccaffrey_luke #RaiseHail pic.twitter.com/I7u7ylAjYv
— Big Doug (@DougMcCrayNFL) September 30, 2024
A rookie WR in Luke McCaffrey sustaining a 4-second block on Denzel Ward to help get Brian Robinson in the endzone is just a top-notch level of competitiveness. pic.twitter.com/1C9gIbo2WC
— Jamual (@LetMualTellit) October 7, 2024
So, while fans (including myself) may want Washington to make a free agent splash or big trade at wide receiver, could the player we all desire be on the roster already just waiting for his time to shine?