Commanders Team Needs For The 2026 Offseason: More Pass Catchers for Jayden Daniels

The Commanders experienced their best season in decades during their magical 2024 run to the NFC Championship, but unfortunately Dan Quinn's crew couldn't keep the magic going in the encore. Franchise QB Jayden Daniels being limited to just seven starts due to injury was the primary issue, although the team also struggled to find consistency from its aging playmakers, and the defense turned into a trainwreck by the end of the year.

2025: 5-12 (-95 point differential, preseason win total: 9.5)
Points per game: 20.9 (22nd)
EPA per pass: +0.09 (16th)
EPA per rush: -0.04 (11th)
Points per game against: 26.5 (27th)
EPA per pass against: +0.24 (31st)
EPA per rush against: +0.03 (28th)

Good news: Washington has the fourth-most effective cap space entering the 2026 offseason, so there is still plenty of ammunition to make the most out of their rookie QB window. Bad news: Last season's trade for Laremy Tunsil leaves the team without a second-round pick. There will still be plenty of good players to be had with the seventh-overall selection, but most of the team's major roster improvements might need to be done through free agency.

What Do The Washington Commanders Need To Address In The 2026 Offseason?

Need 1: Pass Catcher

The team's top 3 leading receivers from last season:

Terry McLaurin: Already got #paid and has consistently been a baller when healthy over the years, but the veteran is on the wrong side of 30.
Deebo Samuel: Struggled mightily down the stretch on his way to averaging a career-low 10.1 yards per catch. The 30-year-old WR is an unrestricted free agent.
Zach Ertz: Recovering from a season-ending torn ACL. The free agent will be 36 in November.

Additionally, contributors Noah Brown, Chris Moore and Treylon Burks are all hitting the open market, and former third-round pick Luke McCaffrey simply hasn't managed to get much going through two seasons. Expecting to get the most out of Daniels with so little behind McLaurin doesn't seem realistic.

Need 2: EDGE

Each of Von Miller, Deatrich Wise, Jacob Martin and Preston Smith are on the wrong side of 30 and entering free agency. Not a great combo for a group that struggled to dominate the line of scrimmage in 2025.

35.6% pressure rate (20th)
1.43 RB rush yards allowed before contact (25th)
32.5% havoc rate (23rd)

Two of the front office's three Rounds 1-3 picks on the front seven during the last five drafts were used on defensive tackles. Defensive-minded HC Dan Quinn felt the need to fire DC Joe Whitt midseason; the least the team can do ahead of 2026 is supply the coaching staff with more youthful talent coming off the edge.

Need 3: Cornerback

There wasn't a single cornerback in Washington who could certifiably be considered good last season:

Trey Amos: 58.8 PFF coverage grade (72nd among 122 qualified corners)
Noah Igbinoghene: 54.5 (93rd)
Marshon Lattimore: 51.2 (103rd)
Mike Sainristil: 50.9 (104th)
Jonathan Jones: 48.0 (112th)

Amos and Sainristil are young and perhaps capable of playing better ball in a more sound scheme, but it's been a minute since Lattimore (30 in May) resembled a true lockdown No. 1 corner, and both Jones and Iginoghene are hitting free agency. The performance of this group certainly wasn't up to par in 2025–something needs to change here in a meaningful way ahead of 2026 if the team wants to improve a pass defense that is fresh off allowing the fifth-most passing yards and third-most passing touchdowns.

Honorable mention

Running back also needs a bit of help even if the team wants to move forward with Jacory Croskey-Merritt as its lead back—both Chris Rodriguez (RFA), Jeremy McNichols (UFA), and Austin Ekeler (UFA) are hitting free agency … Linebacker is also a need: Free agent Bobby Wagner turns 36 in June, leaving the Commanders with the league's fourth-cheapest linebacker core entering 2026 … The offensive line wasn't terrible last season–PFF ranked it as the league's 13th-best unit—but LG Chris Paul is hitting free agency.

If I were GM …

I'd do my best to drag the median age of the NFL's oldest roster down in a meaningful way. Letting past-their-prime pass catchers like Ertz and Samuel walk and trusting the likes of Ben Sinnott, Luke McCaffrey and an early-round wide receiver would help the front office focus the bulk of its attention on the defense, which was operating at a near league-worst level throughout large portions of 2025.

Players Mentioned in this Article

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