The Washington Commanders wide receiver position remains a question mark. There is Terry McLaurin and plenty of questions. Of course, through two games under new offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, McLaurin has only eight receptions for 39 yards.
McLaurin’s lack of big plays isn’t an indication that he’s done — far from it. Kingsbury’s plan through two games has been for rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels to get rid of the ball quickly, which includes a lot of screens and shorter passes to the wide receivers.
There is a troubling statistic regarding Washington’s wide receivers through two games, though.
37.9% of the Washington WR targets have come behind the line of scrimmage, the highest rate in the league.
The league average is 11.3%.
— Rich Hribar (@LordReebs) September 16, 2024
That number will obviously change in the coming weeks, but the Commanders could use help at receiver. General manager Adam Peters was not sold on former first-round pick Jahan Dotson, and he was traded within the division to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Before the regular season began, Washington signed Noah Brown, who caught three passes in Sunday’s Week 2 win. Rookie Luke McCaffrey has yet to make an impact, but his time could be coming.
In his Friday column, Dan Graziano of ESPN mentioned that the Commanders are one of five teams that would love to add a wide receiver before the trade deadline.
The two receivers he mentioned were Diontae Johnson (Panthers) and Davante Adams (Raiders).
Adams, of course, would be the splashier acquisition, but it would come with risk. He will be 32 in December. However, Adams’ salary would be no problem for Washington. Since entering the NFL in 2014, Adams has caught 886 passes for 10,950 yards and 96 touchdowns. Graziano named the Jets, where his former quarterback Aaron Rodgers is currently, as Adams’ potential landing spot.
Johnson, who was traded to the Panthers this offseason, spent his first five NFL seasons in Pittsburgh. Johnson has five receptions in two games for the struggling Panthers in 2024.
It will be interesting to see if Peters decides to part with draft compensation for a veteran player. Thus far, he has been unwilling to do that, but if the Commanders are in contention by the start of November and still lacking production at wide receiver, a trade could be an option, but it may not be a star player.