The Washington Commanders did something many thought was outside of their grasp this offseason by completely overhauling their defense, and doing so to some actual acclaim.
Unfortunately for the Commanders, football is played on both sides of the ball, and they are still bad on offense. Washington has been reduced to 1 inarguably elite player in left offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil and a few more who enter the 2026 season with 2 players they hope can be elite again in quarterback Jayden Daniels and wide receiver Terry McLaurin.
After that, there’s nobody currently on the roster even threatening to enter that conversation.
That’s not to say the Commanders didn’t make any improvements on offense this offseason, just not where they really needed to, according to Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame.
“Washington did a terrific job in free agency, adding Odafe Oweh, Leo Chenal and others to buttress its defense,” Verderame wrote. “With Jayden Daniels hopefully healthy this season, the Commanders should bounce back … The defense ranked last in 2025, so even improvement doesn’t necessarily mean good. As for the offense, a healthy Daniels makes everything work, but the unit needs more than just Terry McLaurin to threaten opponents.”
Bitter Contract Dispute Before 2025 Season
One of the things that defined the 2025 season for the Commanders — and killed any hope of returning to the playoffs — was the bitter contract dispute between the team and McLaurin.
The Commanders were in a situation where everyone else in the known universe could see they were going to have to pay McLaurin what he wanted — something just the executives for the Commanders apparently couldn’t see.
By the time they came around and gave McLaurin a 3-year, $97 million contract extension, he was terrible — and hurt — and the Commanders went from a 12-5 record in 2024 to a 5-12 record in 2025.
With all of that taken into account, NFL insider Matthew Berry predicts 2026 will be the last season for McLaurin with the Commanders.
“The (Commanders) will look to add to the wide receiver room with an emphasis on speed and don’t be surprised if 2026 is Terry McLaurin’s last year with the team,” Berry wrote on Monday. “To that end, one source told me that while almost everyone expects Washington to go defense in the first round this year, if the top three edge guys are all gone by No. 7, don’t be surprised if the Commanders take (Ohio State wide receiver) Carnell Tate.”
Mock Draft Predicts Commanders Draft Star WR
The Commanders have wound up with a surprise Top 10 pick after their terrible 2025 season, so if they do use the No. 7 pick on a wide receiver, they should have their choice of the 3 players projected as 1st round picks in Tate, Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson, and USC’s Makai Lemon.
USA Today’s post-free agency mock draft predicts the Commanders will take Tate.
From USA Today: “(Commanders) don’t have a clear-cut No. 2 receiver behind veteran Terry McLaurin, who will be 31 this season and is coming off his least productive NFL campaign. A fellow Ohio Stater like McLaurin, Tate is the latest ready-made wideout product emerging from the Buckeyes’ pipeline. His 51 catches in 2025 averaged 17.2 yards, nearly three more than former teammate Jeremiah Smith, and should add another explosive element to an offense that already has QB Jayden Daniels ripping off plenty of big plays.”
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