The Washington Commanders should get an offensive bump this season with the return of a healthy quarterback Jayden Daniels. But FOX Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano seems rather concerned the Commanders are about to rely too heavily upon their young quarterback.
This past week, Vacchiano ranked the supporting casts for every NFL quarterback from No. 1-32. The group supporting Daniels came in at No. 28 on the list.
That means the Commanders, according to Vacchiano, have a bottom five NFL offensive supporting cast.
“There seems to be a belief in Washington that the return of a healthy Jayden Daniels will make everybody better,” wrote Vacchiano. “They better be right, though, because the Commanders didn’t do a lot to improve his supporting cast in the offseason.
“Their best weapon, by far, is still WR Terry McLaurin, who will be 31 in September and coming off an injury-plagued season. Their offensive line improved last year, but they haven’t replaced their center, who left in free agency.”
Instead of a major offensive signing or an early draft pick for an offensive prospect, the Commanders settled for under-the-radar additions this offseason.
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In NFL free agency, the Commanders signed veterans receivers Dyami Brown and Van Jefferson. Then during the 2026 NFL Draft, Washington selected wideout Antonio Williams in the third round.
Vacchiano, though, treated those three players as afterthoughts. He didn’t even mention them in his analysis.
“The only weapon the Commanders added in the passing game was solid (and underrated) TE Chigoziem Okonkwo,” wrote Vacchiano. “They did add veteran RB Rachaad White, who could make for a potent duo with Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who had a surprisingly good rookie season after being drafted in the seventh round.”
The positive takeaway from that analysis is the Commanders might get more running back and tight end production. That production might come cheaply too since neither Chig Okonkwo or Rachaad White were very expensive.
On the outside, though, Terry McLaurin is going to have to carry the load along with a third-round rookie. McLaurin is coming off the least productive season of his NFL career.
Commanders Get Warning on Thin Supporting Cast for QB Jayden Daniels