The Washington Commanders made a bold move this offseason by acquiring quarterback Carson Wentz from the Indianapolis Colts. The Commanders sent multiple draft picks to the Colts for Wentz, who will be on his third team in three seasons.
Wentz still has plenty of talent and lots to prove, and Washington is banking on its collection of skill players to help Wentz recapture his form from 2017.
Star wide receiver Terry McLaurin leads Washington’s skill players. McLaurin recently signed a three-year extension, making him one of the NFL’s highest-paid wide receivers. McLaurin is one of the NFL’s best wideouts and would be mentioned even more, if not for eight different starting quarterbacks in his three seasons.
First-round wide receiver Jahan Dotson earned plenty of praise in training camp. He and Wentz quickly developed a rapport with McLaurin out.
The Commanders hope last season’s free-agent prize, Curtis Samuel, is healthy this season. McLaurin, Dotson and Samuel, combined with Dyami Brown and Cam Sims, would give Washington a formidable group of wide receivers.
Washington also has talent at running back in Antonio Gibson, J.D. McKissic and rookie Brian Robinson Jr.
How good is the Commanders’ skill talent as a whole?
ESPN recently ranked every NFL team’s skill position groups ahead of the 2022 NFL season. Washington came in at No. 22:
Terry McLaurin has been one of the NFL’s best receivers despite seeing most of his pass attempts from Taylor Heinicke, Dwayne Haskins, Case Keenum, Alex Smith and Kyle Allen over the past three seasons. McLaurin averaged more yards per route run last season than Keenan Allen and DeAndre Hopkins in an offense in which he was the only receiving threat and Heinicke was the quarterback. We likely would be talking about McLaurin as a CeeDee Lamb-level talent with better quarterback play.
Around McLaurin, there’s more promise than production. Antonio Gibson still hasn’t earned the trust of the coaching staff, which gave the running back snaps on only about 28% of Washington’s third downs a year ago. Fumbles were also a huge problem for Gibson, who coughed up the ball six times on 300 touches. J.D. McKissic backed out of his deal with the Bills to return to the Commanders, leaving them with a useful rotation, if not a star duo.
Tight end Logan Thomas, who broke out in 2020, tore his left ACL last season, while last offseason’s pricey free-agent addition Curtis Samuel played 84 offensive snaps. Both have significant injury histories. Rookie first-rounder Jahan Dotson is leverage against another injury-hit season from Samuel, and his ability to adapt to the NFL is the biggest X factor for Washington this season. If Dotson can emerge as an immediate regular, McLaurin might finally have some operating space.
It’s fair to say Washington should be higher on this list. However, McLaurin is the only proven star among the group. Thomas and McKissic are proven in their roles but not stars. Dotson has an opportunity to become a star alongside McLaurin.
So much of Washington’s 2022 season depends on Wentz.