‘He’s one of our league’s best competitors’ – It’s time to admit that 1 Commanders trade was the steal of the offseason
This turned out to be an impactful offseason move for the Commanders.
The Washington Commanders have been one of the many teams dealing with a long list of injuries, but luckily for them, one offseason move worked out for the best.
The absence of key players actually began in the offseason, when star wide receiver Terry McLaurin skipped training camp during his contract negotiations. That opened up the window of opportunity for one player to show everyone that the Commanders had the best move of the offseason.
People doubted Deebo Samuel’s ability to still have an impact on an offense, but he’s shown just that, and even more than expected after the Commanders traded just a fifth-round pick for him.
Deebo Samuel thriving in Washington
We knew Samuel would have a key role, but the injuries to McLaurin and Noah Brown made him the team’s top wide receiver by a wide margin, and he didn’t shy away from it. Head coach Dan Quinn was asked if he was surprised by Samuel’s success, despite being the only wide receiver that teams should worry about. He continued to praise him, as he has done since Samuel arrived.
“Well, I guess I would disagree with you on him being the only receiver defenses are worried about,” Quinn said. “But I would say that he is one of our league’s best competitors, and maybe the byproduct of him moving around so much in training camp. So, finding different things that players can do is a big piece of it, but one thing I know, there’s a competitive edge to him, and it just reveals itself on game day. It is so much fun to see. I love the energy and the toughness that he brings to the team, and we’re going to try to put him in as many spots as we can to make his impact, and he’s always down for that.”
Deebo Samuel is back to playing his game
It shouldn’t surprise anyone who was paying any attention this offseason, but Samuel has been having his best start to a season since 2021. He’s already scored as many touchdowns as he did all of last season. Jayden Daniels trusts Samuel because of their time spent together this season, and he’s putting up WR1 numbers.
Deebo Samuel 2025 Season Stats
- Week 1: 7 catches for 77 yards, 1 rush for 19 yards and a TD, and 50 kick return yards
- Week 2: 7 catches for 44 yards and a TD, and 78 kick return yards
- Week 3: 2 catches for 11, 3 rushes for 18 yards, and 93 kick return yards
- Week 4: 6 catches for 72 yards and a TD, 3 rushes for 9 yards
- Week 5: 8 catches for 96 yards and a TD
Samuel is the only player in the NFL to have all of 30+ catches, 300+ receiving yards, 45+ rushing yards, and four touchdowns this season. He’s also WR7 in fantasy football right now, and doesn’t look to be slowing down.
Even when McLaurin returns from his quad injury, which could be as early as this week, his impact will still be felt, even if his targets take a slight dip. We haven’t seen Daniels have that same connection with McLaurin yet, so he will still look to Samuel for the big plays.
Washington Commanders News
One play changed the game for the Washington Commanders on Sunday, and potentially altered the rest of the season
The Commanders needed a big play, and they got one.
