The Washington Commanders passing offense has looked better over the past week with the arrival of veteran receiver Stefon Diggs. Rookie wideout Antonio Williams, though, has also continued to make progress.
On Wednesday, Williams turned in an impressive performance at practice against the Miami Dolphins. The outing caught the eyes of multiple team insiders.
“Most of the Commanders’ wide receivers won their matchups, leaving the Dolphins’ defensive backs trailing behind them at the line of scrimmage,” wrote Commanders.com’s Zach Selby. “Antonio Williams was particularly good at this with a move on Ethan Robinson that created about five yards of separation.”
SI on Commanders’ Philip Hughes noticed the rookie as well.
“Antonio Williams continues to make defenders look silly with his twitchy moves; today he caught a red-zone touchdown pass after lining up in the backfield next to Mariota,” wrote Hughes. “The rookie just finds a way to produce no matter how they feed him the ball.”
Wednesday wasn’t an aberration. Hours before the joint practice, Fansided’s Riggo’s Rag’s Dean Jones included Williams on a list of five supreme standouts from Tuesday’s practice.
“According to those in attendance, Williams also made a few impressive touchdown grabs during the red-zone portion of practice,” wrote Jones. “Being able to work in tight windows with such success is only going to serve him well when the Commanders open things up.
“And not even Diggs’ arrival will stop him from making an impact.”
The Commanders grabbed Williams at No. 71 overall in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft. He could be the team’s WR3 behind Diggs and fellow veteran Terry McLaurin when the season starts.
Commanders Rookie Antonio Williams Turning in Strong Training Camp
At the beginning of training camp, there were questions about whether Williams could potentially start opposite McLaurin. But the Commanders added Diggs for that role.
That should remove a lot of pressure from the Day 2 rookie. Whether or not that’s contributed to his success, Williams is progressing nicely at training camp.
Behind McLaurin and Diggs, Williams is competing to be the team’s third wideout. Washington also has veterans Treylon Burks, Luke McCaffrey, Dyami Brown and Van Jefferson to potentially fill that role.
As a former first-round pick, Burks might be the most talented depth receiver in Washington. But he’s unreliable. Burks has dealt with a lot of injuries throughout his career to prevent him from reaching his first-round hype.
McCaffrey is coming off a season where he only played nine games because of injury. The Commanders added Brown and Jefferson in NFL free agency over the offseason.
Jayden Daniels Addresses Williams After Joint Practice
While the media has taken notice of Williams’ progress, so has his teammates.
A reporter asked quarterback Jayden Daniels about the rookie target. Daniels had only good things to say.
“It’s been good. He’s super eager to learn,” said Daniels. “He’s like a little brother. He’s still a rookie at the end of the day, so we give him a tough time.
“But we know he wants to go out there and work. He wants to go out there and perform. He wants to earn the trust, and he’s been doing that.”
At Clemson last season, Williams posted 55 receptions, 604 receiving yards and four touchdowns in 10 games. He had a stronger statistical junior season with 75 catches, 904 yards and 11 scores in 14 contests during 2024.
Commanders Rookie Turns Heads at Joint Practice With Dolphins