Commanders Named Trade Candidate for $36 Million WR From NFC South

Getty Carolina Panthers wide receiver Diontae Johnson.

If you’re a Washington Commanders fan and you want an early Christmas present, you should probably ask Santa to give you a trade for another elite wide receiver to play alongside Terry McLaurin and catch passes from rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.

So what if we’re not even to Halloween?

For all intents and purposes, the Commanders have a multitude of talented pass catchers they might be able to swing a deal for, with Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox adding Carolina Panthers wide receiver Diontae Johnson to the list of possible trade targets headed into Week 7 and ahead of the NFL’s November 5 trade deadline.

“The Commanders, who lack a reliable No. 2 receiver opposite Terry McLaurin, should also be interested (in Johnson),” Knox wrote. “Rookie Jayden Daniels could give Johnson something he doesn’t have in Carolina—a quarterback who create big plays on the fly.”

If the Commanders are interested in Johnson, they’ll get an up close look at him in Week 7, as the Panthers hit the road to face the Commanders on October 20.

Johnson One of Few Bright Spots for Panthers

The Panthers are 1-5 headed into Sunday’s game against the Commanders and their season has been defined by benching 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young after 2 games.

Even with that, Johnson has been one of the few brights spots for Carolina and leads the team with 29 receptions for 340 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns.

At different times since the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Johnson out of Toledo in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft, he’s been one of the league’s dominant special teams player and wide receivers.

Johnson was named NFL All-Pro and selected to the Pro Bowl as a rookie at return specialist in 2019 and had career highs in receptions (107), receiving yards (1,161) and touchdowns (8) in 2021 before signing a 4-year, $36.7 million contract extension before the 2022 season.

Johnson has at least 700 receiving yards in each of the last 4 seasons and was traded to Carolina in March 2024.

Commanders Need Another Option Besides McLaurin

While the Commanders have been one of the NFL’s biggest and best storylines because of Daniels’ stellar play and are 4-2 headed into their game against the Panthers, it’s tough to overlook the fact that McLaurin has been their only effective wide receiver.

While McLaurin leads the Commanders with 29 receptions for 356 yards and 4 touchdowns, there’s a steep drop off at the position after that — Washington’s second and third leading receivers are tight end Zach Ertz and backup running back Austin Ekeler.

Outside of McLaurin, the highlight for the Commanders at wide receiver recently has been what’s looking more and more like a genius trade that involved 2022 first-round pick Jahan Dotson, who they shipped to the Philadelphia Eagles along with a fifth round pick in exchange for a third round pick and 2 seventh round picks before the regular season.

Financially, the Commanders ate $500,000 of Dotson’s $2 million salary in 2024 but the Eagles are on the hook for the entire $3.2 million he’s owed in 2025 — the final season of his fully guaranteed, 4-year, $15 million rookie contract.

Through 5 games in 2024 with the Eagles, Dotson has 12 receptions for 35 yards and no touchdowns.