Commanders WR Jahan Dotson is excited by what he's seen from QB Jayden Daniels in training camp so far, calling the rookie a "special talent." Daniels had his best day of camp on Tuesday, per The Washington Post's Sam Fortier, connecting on multiple deep passes and breaking off at least one long run.
The Commanders are hiring Kliff Kingsbury as their OC under HC Dan Quinn, according to multiple reports. Kingsbury had an underwhelming tenure as Cardinals HC from 2019 to 2022, going 28-37-1 over those four seasons. He landed two of those teams inside the top 8 in total yards, but none cracked the top 10 in points. Kingsbury at least deployed fast-paced attacks, with three of his four offenses finishing top 3 in pace and offensive plays. He joins a Washington squad with plenty of skill-position talent and the No. 2 overall pick in this spring's draft, which will presumably be used to take a QB.
Commanders WR Terry McLaurin managed no receptions on just 3 targets in Sunday's blowout loss to the Dolphins. And he wasn't happy about it. "I ran a lot of cardio today," he told reporters after the game. It's been a disappointing season for Washington's top wideout. Despite his offense leading the league in pass attempts entering Sunday and ranking ninth in passing yards, McLaurin was working on a career-low 57.8 yards per game. That's obviously coming down even further after Sunday's 0. WR Curtis Samuel tied with RB Antonio Gibson, and WR Jahan Dotson for the team lead with 5 targets. Samuel and Gibson caught four passes apiece, while Samuel led the team with 65 receiving yards. Washington's WRs don't look likely to help you a whole lot the rest of the way. After a Week 14 bye, the Commanders get the league's third-toughest schedule for WR scoring over the final three fantasy weeks. That includes matchups with the Jets and 49ers in the final two rounds of most fantasy playoffs.
Washington WR Jahan Dotson caught the team's lone TD pass in Sunday's loss to the Giants. That inflated a stat line that included just 3 receptions and 23 yards. His 4 targets ranked fourth on the team, trailing RB Brian Robinson Jr. (9), TE Logan Thomas (8), and WR Terry McLaurin (7). Sunday found WR Curtis Samuel in the lineup, which has damaged Dotson's target share all year. But Samuel got ejected in the first half. That Dotson failed to draw more target share despite Samuel leaving early looks even worse for Dotson going forward. His spike in production for weeks 8 and 9 look more like outliers than blueprints for projecting Dotson the rest of the way.
Commanders WR Jahan Dotson was held off the stat sheet in Week 10. Sam Howell attempted 44 passes and threw for 312 yards, but Dotson garnered only 2 targets. He led the WR corps in snaps (58) and routes run (44). Sunday also marked the return of Curtis Samuel, who saw 6 targets coming off a toe injury. A tough rest-of-season schedule – plus a Week 14 bye – makes Dotson more of a deep league spot starter going forward.
Commanders WR Jahan Dotson drew 8 targets to lead the team in Sunday's win at New England. It marked the first time since Week 1 that he led the team in that category. He hauled in four of those targets for 69 yards and the team's lone TD reception, from 33 yards out. Dotson has averaged 5.7 receptions and 73.3 yards over the past three games (with 2 TDs) vs. just 2.8 receptions and 23.3 yards (1 TD) over the first six contests. WR Curtis Samuel's toe injury has helped, knocking him out of Week 8 early and keeping him out for Week 9. Samuel didn't practice at all ahead of the New England game, so his status looks at least iffy for Week 10 as well. Dotson will probably crack our top 36 at WR across formats for a Week 10 meeting with Seattle. The Seahawks entered Sunday as the third-best scoring matchup for WRs by our adjusted fantasy points allowed. We'll see about Dotson's progression and how soon Samuel can return. WR Terry McLaurin, meanwhile, remained fine with a 5-73 receiving line on 7 targets against the Patriots.
Commanders WR Curtis Samuel (toe) is out for Sunday’s game vs. the Patriots. He was replaced last week by WR Jamison Crowder, who caught all seven of his targets for 95 yards and a score. We wouldn’t go chasing that production. Samuel’s absence should mean a few extra targets to divvy between WR Terry McLaurin, WR Jahan Dotson, and TE Logan Thomas.
Commanders WR Curtis Samuel (toe) did not practice on Wednesday. He didn't return to last week's game after hurting his toe and is in real danger of missing Sunday's game vs. the Patriots. Jamison Crowder replaced Samuel as Washington's primary slot receiver last week but would be a desperation fantasy play. Samuel's absence would likely mean more targets for WRs Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson.
Commanders WR Jahan Dotson enjoyed a Week 8 breakout with 8 grabs, 108 yards, and 1 score. Sam Howell chucked it 52 times, but Dotson’s target share still finished at an improved 19.2%. Terry McLaurin, meanwhile, led the team in targets (12), while he scored his second TD on the year. Washington’s leaky secondary could force more shootouts going forward. That’s just not a likely outcome next week against the low-scoring Patriots. After that comes a Week 10 date at Seattle.
Commanders WR Terry McLaurin led the team in targets (10), receptions (8), and receiving yards (86) in Sunday's OT loss at Philadelphia. Those marked season highs in each category. WR Jahan Dotson followed with 9 targets, catching four for just 27 yards. But he nabbed QB Sam Howell's lone TD pass at the end of regulation to push the game to OT. McLaurin remains the only Washington WR in serious lineup consideration and gets an upside matchup with the Bears in Week 5.
Commanders WR Jahan Dotson went down with an ankle injury in the second half of Sunday's game vs. the Eagles. He's officially questionable to return. Stay tuned for an update.
Update: Dotson returned to the game.
Commanders WR Terry McLaurin tied for the team lead in targets (6) in Week 3. He caught all 6 but tallied only 41 yards against a Bills D that held Washington to 3 points. McLaurin’s now been held under 50 yards twice this season, which happened only four times all of 2022. He’s also tied with Jahan Dotson in 2023 target share (17.4%). Improved play from Sam Howell is a must if McLaurin is to get back to WR2 status. He figures to see plenty of top CB Darius Slay when Philly hosts the Commanders in Week 4.
Commanders WR Terry McLaurin (turf toe) landed just 2 catches on 6 targets for 31 receiving yards in Sunday’s win vs. the Cardinals. Teammate Curtis Samuel led the team in receiving with 54 yards and a perfect 5-for-5 on his targets. McLaurin has dealt with this toe injury dating back to the preseason and practiced in a limited fashion for much of this week. It’s no surprise he got out-targeted by WR Jahan Dotson (5 for 40 yards on 7 targets) in Week 1, though we expect McLaurin’s impact to increase as he becomes further removed from the ailment. An underrated takeaway to consider before their Week 2 matchup vs. the Broncos is that TE Logan Thomas led the Commanders with 8 targets in this game—something to remember for those in deeper leagues.
Commanders WR Terry McLaurin enters Year 5 seeking his 4th straight 1,000-yard season. McLaurin’s underlying numbers looked strong last fall, with 2.04 yards per route run, 5.1 yards after catch per reception, and a 3.8% drop rate. The former Ohio State star also played 17 games for the 2nd straight season. Washington will run it back with a WR trio of McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, and Curtis Samuel. QB Sam Howell brings more questions than answers, but we’re confident in Eric Bieniemy as a major play-calling upgrade. Ultimately, McLaurin profiles as a low-end fantasy WR2.
Poor QB play limited Commanders WR Jahan Dotson in 2022. Still, he flashed true Round 1 talent with 14.9 yards per catch and 7 scores. He did so despite missing five games with an early-season hamstring injury. Year two brings a QB change with Sam Howell likely to start. Washington will also break in new OC Eric Bieniemy. “Exciting. … A lot of down-the-field plays," Dotson said of Bieniemy’s offense, per The Athletic. “We’re going to stretch the field, make the defense really work.” Dotson should see plenty of downfield opportunities alongside Howell, who wasn’t shy about throwing deep at North Carolina. The 23-year-old sits just outside WR3 range in our 2023 WR rankings.
The Commanders fired OC Scott Turner. Washington never ranked better than 20th in total yards or 23rd in points across Turner's 3 seasons, although QB play was seemingly a bigger problem than Turner's play calling. We'll see who the Commanders tab as their next OC -- and what they do at QB. Carson Wentz is set to count $26 million against the 2023 cap but can be cut with no dead-cap penalty.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reports that the Commanders are expected to start QB Taylor Heinicke against Dallas in the season finale. But he adds that rookie QB Sam Howell "is also slated to play." Take this news as an admission from HC Ron Rivera that he was wrong to start Carson Wentz in the Week 17 loss to Cleveland. With Washington now eliminated from playoff contention, though, it would seem to make more sense to just play the rookie the whole way. The reported plan, of course, makes both QBs unusable in fantasy football lineups. And the whole situation adds risk to Washington pass-catchers. We're not changing our outlook for RB Brian Robinson Jr., though. Check out the adjusted Week 18 fantasy football rankings.
Commanders TE Logan Thomas hauled in 6 of 7 targets for 56 yards on Sunday vs. the Browns. This effort led all Commanders' pass-catchers in what was a rather poor offensive showing in the Week 17 loss. WR Jahan Dotson only managed to rope in 3 of 7 targets for 37 yards. WRs Terry McLaurin and Curtis Samuel combined for 3 catches between them and did not provide much fantasy value on Sunday. It'll be interesting to see if Commanders HC Ron Rivera hands the reigns back over to QB Taylor Heinicke for Week 18 vs. the Cowboys. That might be the only hope fantasy managers playing beyond this week have for this bunch.
Commanders WR Jahan Dotson led the team with 9 targets in Saturday's loss to the 49ers. He caught 6 of them for 76 yards and a TD. Dotson beat WR Terry McLaurin in targets a game after he tied McLaurin for the team lead. TE Logan Thomas followed Dotson in this one, catching 6 of 8 targets for 35 yards. WR Curtis Samuel added a 5-52-1 receiving line on 5 targets. McLaurin went 4-77-1 on 5 looks.
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