Washington has downgraded WR Deebo Samuel to out for Sunday's game against the Cowboys. He's not even traveling with the team, thanks to the heel injury that he played through in last Monday night's loss to the Bears. Samuel still led the team's pass catchers in playing time for that contest.
The Commanders will have to go without Samuel and Terry McLaurin against one of the league's worst pass defenses. That creates big opportunity for veteran WR Chris Moore, as well as youngsters Luke McCaffrey and Jaylin Lane.
Those were the next three Commanders WRs in playing time behind Samuel against Chicago, with Moore starting opposite Samuel and doubling the other two in pass routes.
Moore's the best bet among them for targets against the Cowboys and presents some upside, especially with his downfield speed. But he's also 32 and in his 10th season with just three career games that included more than 4 catches.
In fact, just seven of Moore's 120 career games -- including the playoffs -- have found him reaching 4 receptions.
McCaffrey has 26 career catches midway through his second season after arriving as a third-round pick last year.
Washington drafted Lane in Round 4 this April, but he has just one game with more than 1 catch so far and drew a mere two targets each of the past two weeks.
Practice-squad options at WR include:
We'll see about Samuel and McLaurin for the Week 8 visit to Kansas City.
TE Zach Ertz looks like the best bet for Week 7 targets among Commanders. He has climbed into the top 12 of our Week 7 TE rankings across formats.
Washington could opt for more multi-TE sets, but John Bates and Ben Sinnott have each caught just one pass this season. They're not worth fantasy attention.
The RBs also add upside for all the turmoil at WR, where Washington has also already been missing Noah Brown.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Jeremy McNichols should become better target bets with the missing WRs. McNichols drew a season-high four looks against Chicago, but his 3 catches in that game give him just 5 for the season. And he has no more than five touches in any game this year.
JCM has seen his role grow in general in recent weeks and could find Washington coaches leaning his way more heavily than ever.
Even though his receiving usage to date limits our projection, I wouldn't be surprised to see Croskey-Merritt get enough usage to support a top-12 week. Consider his potential ceiling as you make your Week 7 lineup decisions.
QB Jayden Daniels obviously doesn't "win" for missing his top three WRs. But he's still good enough all around to stay around the top of our QB rankings for such a prime matchup. I'd need to have a stellar alternative to consider benching Daniels.
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