There are a lot of NFL teams that could still use free agent help. I mean, just take a look at the Miami Dolphins depth chart. But the Washington Commanders have one thing that teams like the Miami Dolphins don’t have - money. The Dolphins are in rebuild mode with only ~$12M in cap space, while the Washington Commanders are a competing team with ~$43M available. So everyone is wondering what holes the Commanders might use that money to patch up this summer.

It’s also no secret that the Commanders could use a WR2 opposite Terry McLaurin. They’ve got some retreads on the team in Treylon Burks, Dyami Brown, and Van Jefferson. They also drafted rookie Antonio Williams in the third round this year. But those players aren’t insurmountable options compared to some of the wide receiver names out there, like Brandon Aiyuk, Stefon Diggs, or even a reunion with Deebo Samuel.

So why don’t we take a moment here to hypothesize on what the Commanders should do with their money? Let’s rank the top free agent wide receiver names, how they would fit with the team, and what it would take to get them. While on the topic, we might as well reflect on the potential fantasy football impact for guys like Jayden Daniels, Terry McLaurin, and Chig Okonkwo. To get access to all of our fantasy football takes for this season, grab a copy of the 2026 Fantasy Alarm Draft Guide, which was just released yesterday!

Brandon Aiyuk

Let’s be realistic here. Brandon Aiyuk is the best available combination of talent and age. He recently turned 28 years old in March and, in his last healthy season, he ripped off 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns. There are just two “little” problems. One, he’s currently (technically) a member of the San Francisco 49ers. And the other is that his social media posts lately have called into question his current mental state. The posts have been so erratic and frequent that the 49ers subreddit had to curate a [MEGATHREAD] just to contain them. That has made trading for Aiyuk a risky proposition. If the 49ers do release him, teams might not want to give him a multi-year deal or guaranteed money. 

Fantasy Football Impact

Like Terry McLaurin, Brandin Aiyuk is primarily an outside wide receiver. So he would line up opposite McLaurin with Chig Okonkwo and rookie Antonio Williams likely patrolling the slot. That would allow these guys to co-exist in the fantasy football world and would be great for Jayden Daniels, but we’d have to adjust how we rank Chig Okonkwo in our tight end rankings. Aiyuk isn’t going to settle for less than 100 targets.  

 

 

 

Stefon Diggs

Diggs is 32 now and will turn 33 during the season. But he just put up 80 catches and over 1,000 yards in a part-time role with New England, coming off a torn ACL. Now that his own off-field troubles have been cleared, he’s almost certainly going to sign with a team. And it feels like he’s just waiting for this Brandon Aiyuk situation to be sorted to see if the Commanders will be that team.

Fantasy Football Impact

It’s yet to be seen whether Diggs will be a part-time player at this stage or whether he can return to being a full-time guy. In New England, he spent equal time in the slot and out wide, so we know he can do both. If signed by Washington, I would expect him to play slot in three WR sets, then potentially stay on the field opposite McLaurin in two WR sets. That would likely hurt rookie Antonio Williams and would allow someone like Treylon Burks more snaps on the outside. Regardless of where Diggs lands, we are pretty confident he outperforms his WR56 ADP, as you can clearly see in our Best Ball Cheat Sheet. 

Deebo Samuel

All offseason, it has felt like the Washington Commanders have had Deebo Samuel in their “back pocket”. They want to see what else is out there, but a reunion isn’t necessarily off the table. Health has been an issue for Samuel for most of his career, but last season he did play 16 games with 72 catches for 727 yards and 5 touchdowns. He also offers a gadget element, where he had 17 carries for 75 yards and a touchdown. 

Fantasy Football Impact

The usage for Deebo Samuel last year was not dissimilar to what we project for Stefon Diggs. He was the slot wide receiver for three WR sets and moved out wide for two WR sets. As we saw last year, Chig Okonkwo could potentially survive in fantasy the way that Zach Ertz did, as neither Terry McLaurin nor Deebo Samuel commands the kind of targets that guys like CeeDee Lamb or Justin Jefferson do. Bringing back Deebo Samuel would have the biggest impact on Antonio Williams, who is currently in line for that role as we discussed in our Fantasy Football Rookie Outlook article.

 

 

 

Keenan Allen

The ongoing issues with the AC joint in Keenan Allen’s right shoulder really should have him shying away from contact. The Chargers handled this by having him play pass snaps pretty exclusively last season. But that didn’t stop him from leading the team with 122 targets. After his brief stint in Chicago, he made comments suggesting he only wanted to play for the Bears or the Chargers. But former Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn is now the Commanders running back coach, so maybe he could convince him otherwise.

Fantasy Football Impact

At this stage, the 34-year-old Keenan Allen is clearly a part-time player at best. And, even on the 122 targets, he didn’t put up much better numbers than Samuel did. He is a low aDot possession receiver. Bringing in Allen would still leave room for one of Antonio Williams or Treylon Burks to get snaps (oddly, Allen played 431 snaps out wide and only 235 in the slot last year, so he’s not just a slot guy). But adding Allen, or anyone really, is going to muddy the targets after Terry McLaurin. If/when Allen gets signed, we’ll have to make a call on where to place him within our redraft fantasy football rankings.

Tyreek Hill

This is a risky maneuver in more ways than one. Not only does Tyreek Hill have serious character concerns, but he’s also coming off a very serious knee injury. Not just a torn ACL but a complete knee dislocation with multiple torn ligaments. He won’t be ready to start the season, so the goal would be to keep things afloat and bank on him to have a major impact down the stretch. That said, even 75% of Tyreek Hill is a dangerous weapon given his insane field-stretching ability. 

Fantasy Football Impact

It’s hard to imagine a team signing Tyreek Hill much earlier than they need to. I believe it’s more likely that the Commanders sign someone in the interim, then consider signing Tyreek Hill down the road when he’s proven to be healthy. At that stage, however, a lot more teams will be in the running as injuries will have taken their toll across the league. If a team really wants Hill, they may need to take a gamble on him before other teams are ready. What happens next for Tyreek Hill will be MASSIVE for his standing in the future Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings.

 

 

 

Honorable Mentions

  • DeAndre Hopkins - Hopkins actually grew up a Washington fan and has professed his love for the DC area. If brought on, he would be a part-time boundary guy as he has been for three years now.
  • Curtis Samuel - Samuel has a history with the team here, which is a plus. You’d basically just be betting that he was not a scheme fit whatsoever with Buffalo and could bounce back.
  • Noah Brown - Brown also has a history with the team, though he is more of a role player than anything. Washington fans will never forget his heroic Hail Mary catch, though.