The Washington Commanders haven’t displayed the ability to draft competent wide receivers in the NFL draft, which means a trade might be the best way to keep them competitive in 2026.
Heavy’s Max Dible proposed a trade that would do exactly that for the Commanders, sending a 2027 5th-round pick to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for Pro Bowl wide receiver Jerry Jeudy.
“Jerry Jeudy has value in Cleveland this season, but not that much,” Dible wrote. “The team selected KC Concepcion No. 24 overall, then saw Denzel Boston fall to them at No. 39. Jeudy has two years remaining on his $52.5 million deal and will be an obvious trade/cut candidate heading into next offseason when the Browns are poised to add their QB of the future via the NFL draft or some other method. Jeudy just turned 27 years old. He put up a 1,000-yard season in 2024 and is a good route runner. He’s got flaws, but he’d walk into the Commanders’ locker room as a clear WR2 this summer. Cleveland got him for a fifth-rounder and a sixth-rounder two years ago. If they can get a fifth back now, that’s more than a small victory given his two years of production for the end cost of a sixth-round draft selection. Win-win.”
Jerry Jeudy Could Transform Washington’s Offense
The Browns moving Jeudy shouldn’t really be looked at like a negative — they’re 1 of the NFL’s worst-run teams and have shown little to no knack for identifying elite talent.
Getting trade from the Brown might actually be looked at more like a badge of honor.
Jeudy, 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, was a 2-time All-American and Biletnikoff Award winner at Alabama, as well as winning a College Football Playoff national championship.
The Denver Broncos selected him in the 1st round (No. 16 overall) of the 2020 NFL draft and played 4 seasons there before he was traded to the Browns in March 2024 in exchange for a 2024 5th round pick and a 2024 6th round pick.
Just 1 week after the trade, the Browns signed Jeudy to a 3-year, $52.5 million contract extension. He responded with the best season of his career in 2024 with career highs of 90 receptions for 1,229 receiving yards to go with 4 touchdowns.
Those numbers took a gigantic dip in 2025, with 50 receptions for 602 yards and 2 touchdowns. In Jeudy’s 2 seasons with the Browns, the franchise has started a whopping 7 quarterbacks: Joe Flacco, Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, Jameis Winston, Deshaun Watson, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and Bailey Zappe.
Commanders Have Struggled to Find WR2
The Commanders have 1 of the NFL’s elite wide receivers in veteran Terry McLaurin, who set a franchise record with 13 receiving touchdowns in 2024 and signed a 3-year, $97 million contract extension before the 2025 season.
What the Commanders haven’t had in that time is any semblance of a WR 2 option. It’s something that needs to be rectified with 1 of the NFL’s elite young quarterbacks in former No. 2 overall pick and 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels.
The Commanders stumbled to a 5-12 record in 2025 thanks in large part to injury issues with Daniels, who missed 10 games with a variety of injuries, and McLaurin, who missed a career-high 7 games and had career lows of 38 receptions for 582 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Commanders Trade Pitch Lands $52.5 Million Pro Bowl WR