Commanders trade gives Jayden Daniels another weapon

ASHBURN, Va. -- The film suggests Washington Commanders receiver Deebo Samuel still has something left in the tank.

He can still turn shorter catches into long runs. He can still play physically. He can still create chances for teammates because of the way opposing defenses must account for him. And, perhaps most importantly, he can add an element Washington has sorely needed.

"[He's] so damn tough," one NFC coach said.

The coach raved about Samuel's balance through contact and called him a "total baller" on offense.

But then came the big caveat.

"Can he be healthy and available?" the coach asked.

And that's the big question no one can answer until Samuel suits up for the Commanders after being traded from the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday. It's not that Samuel misses a lot of games -- he has missed a combined nine in the past four years. It's about the cumulative toll of his physical style as he creeps into his 30s. And it's ultimately why Washington only needed to send a fifth-round pick to acquire the former All-Pro from the 49ers.

But Washington has bet on veteran stars before -- and it paid off. Last offseason, the franchise signed linebacker Bobby Wagner, tight end Zach Ertz and running back Austin Ekeler. Wagner and Ertz started every game and all three were productive, with Wagner earning second-team All-Pro honors. Ekeler also had strong numbers, though he did miss five games.

Samuel, 29, is eight months younger than Ekeler, and arrives with an intriguing skill set that can be enhanced, or at least properly utilized, under Washington offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. He and quarterback Jayden Daniels had the NFL's fifth-highest-scoring offense last season.

Kingsbury coaxed production out of the likes of receivers Olamide Zaccheaus (career-high 45 receptions, 35 more than the previous year) and Dyami Brown (career-high 30 receptions, 18 more than his previous best).

With Samuel, Washington now has a mobile chess piece for Kingsbury to utilize. Samuel can line up all over the field as a receiver and he can align in the backfield, where he's capable of running the ball or a route. Washington can also pair him with Ekeler in the backfield, giving defenses two pass-catching threats who can also run.

"It's just his ability to just find things that people are really good at," Ertz said of Kingsbury late in the 2024 season. "He uses guys to their strengths, which seems very simple and would be common sense, but it's just not the case.

"He's not going to ask you to do something that you don't feel comfortable with or don't feel confident in, and he's going to use guys in any which way if they have one really good trait. You see that with guys that haven't had a lot of success."

The quarterback throwing the ball to those targets helped as well. Daniels was named the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year and led the Commanders to their first NFL title game since the 1991 season. As one NFC coach said, Samuel is a "super version" of Zaccheaus. And there's a thought that, as well as San Francisco's Brock Purdy has played, being with Daniels will boost Samuel even more.

Samuel's addition also serves as a balance to star wide receiver Terry McLaurin's game. McLaurin is a major downfield threat. He was tied for seventh with seven catches on throws that traveled 25 yards or more last season. Since 2019, McLaurin has 41 career receptions of that length or more (third-most in the NFL, five behind leader Tyreek Hill), while Samuel has nine such plays.

Samuel does his work after the catch, averaging 9.0 such yards in his career, and can provide a physical underneath threat who can be explosive for Washington's offense. That should help when teams focus more on McLaurin, as they often do.

Samuel doesn't solve all of Washington's receiver issues. As of now, the Commanders don't have a deep unit as Zaccheaus, both Browns and Jamison Crowder -- four of their top six last year -- are free agents. They could use another deep threat.

Daniels' second season will be about how he can build on his first. But adding talent around him also will help both the quarterback and the entire offense as a whole.

Samuel is coming off an interesting year: In his first eight games, he recorded two 100-yard games and finished six games with at least 54 yards. In his final seven, he had six games with 22 yards or less. But he also was impacted by calf, wrist, oblique and rib injuries.

That final stretch is why questions will follow Samuel into the season.

This is the second time general manager Adam Peters has traded for a veteran with injury concerns. He sent two draft picks to New Orleans in exchange for corner Marshon Lattimore. The success of that move remains to be seen.

But if Samuel stays healthy, then Washington will have boosted an offense that did quite well with lesser all-around talent.