Last week I posted about Deebo Samuel being on the trade block, speculating that he'd probably be overdrafted next year, as a 29-year-old who's played his best football. I still think that's true, but it's hard not to be intrigued by his landing spot.
Yes, Washington is in a division with the Eagles team that just steamrolled most of its playoff opposition (including the Commanders by a 55-23 score) en route to winning the Super Bowl. But you've got to like its offense, which finished 7th in yards and 5th in scoring last year with its rookie quarterback. And I'm liking it even more now.
In 2024, Washington's 2nd-best wide receiver in receptions (45), yards (506) and touchdowns (3) was Olamide Zaccheaus. Jayden Daniels was throwing to Terry McLaurin, Zach Ertz and not much else. In 20 games, including the playoffs, Zaccheaus reached 50 receiving yards four times. Samuel did it 7 times in his 15 games, and has scored 16 touchdowns in his last 30 games.
Maybe he's lost half a step, but he'd need to lose a lot not to be a big upgrade from Washington's other wide receivers last season. It feels to me that Daniels looks even more appealing in his second season, with McLaurin and Samuel as his top 2 wideouts.
The other issue here is that I was initially viewing San Francisco's willingness to move on from Samuel as a sign they didn't think he was a difference-maker anymore. This team was just in the Super Bowl a year ago, so they're surely not rebuilding. But then came yesterday's report that teams are inquiring about 26-year-old Brandon Aiyuk, who San Francisco just paid 6 months ago, and John Lynch indicates the team is listening. Aiyuk is coming off injury, but he's not a declining player. If San Francisco actually deals him away too, it's a sign that contending in 2025 is not at the forefront of their thoughts.
Back to Washington. Their offense should be better. It seems like the thing most likely to be an issue for them getting past the Eagles next year will be their defense. While their offense was pretty similar in the first half of the season versus the second, scoring just about a point different, their defense -- which seemed to be doing it with mirrors for a lot of the year -- got worse, right up until getting exposed by the Philadelphia in the playoffs.
In the first half of the season (Weeks 1-9), Washington allowed 21 points per week. That was even after getting blown out at Tampa Bay the first week of the season (37-20); after that, Dan Quinn had that unit dramatically exceeding expectations. They were 11th in points allowed.
But in Weeks 10-18, Washington allowed over 25 points per game (21st). That decline of 4.3 points per week was better than only six teams.
| DEFENSE, 1ST HALF VERSUS 2ND HALF | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defense | Pts(1st) | Rk(1st) | Pts(2nd) | Rk(2nd) | Diff |
| Tampa Bay | 27.0 | 28 | 17.8 | 3t | -9.3 |
| Baltimore | 24.3 | 23 | 17.8 | 3t | -6.6 |
| Jacksonville | 28.0 | 30 | 22.9 | 16t | -5.1 |
| Las Vegas | 27.9 | 29 | 22.9 | 16t | -5.0 |
| Seattle | 22.8 | 16 | 18.4 | 5 | -4.4 |
| New Orleans | 25.4 | 26 | 21.1 | 11 | -4.3 |
| Green Bay | 21.6 | 14 | 17.6 | 2 | -3.9 |
| Miami | 23.4 | 17 | 19.7 | 7 | -3.7 |
| Arizona | 23.8 | 19 | 20.6 | 10 | -3.2 |
| Philadelphia | 19.4 | 9 | 16.4 | 1 | -2.9 |
| LA Rams | 24.3 | 22 | 21.3 | 12 | -2.9 |
| Carolina | 32.6 | 32 | 30.1 | 15 | -2.4 |
| Dallas | 28.1 | 31 | 27.0 | 26 | -1.1 |
| Houston | 21.4 | 12t | 21.5 | 13 | .1 |
| Tennessee | 26.6 | 27 | 27.4 | 27 | .8 |
| Denver | 17.9 | 3 | 18.8 | 6 | .9 |
| New England | 24.1 | 21 | 25.0 | 20 | .9 |
| Minnesota | 18.8 | 7 | 20.2 | 9 | 1.5 |
| Kansas City | 18.4 | 4 | 19.9 | 8 | 1.5 |
| Atlanta | 24.0 | 20 | 25.9 | 23 | 1.9 |
| Cincinnati | 24.4 | 24 | 26.8 | 25 | 2.3 |
| Detroit | 18.5 | 5t | 21.9 | 14 | 3.4 |
| San Francisco | 24.6 | 25 | 28.2 | 30 | 3.7 |
| Cleveland | 23.7 | 18 | 27.8 | 29 | 4.1 |
| NY Giants | 22.4 | 15 | 26.6 | 24 | 4.2 |
| Washington | 21.0 | 11 | 25.3 | 21 | 4.3 |
| Buffalo | 19.2 | 8 | 24.4 | 18 | 5.2 |
| Chicago | 18.5 | 5t | 24.7 | 19 | 6.2 |
| NY Jets | 20.3 | 10 | 27.6 | 28 | 7.3 |
| Indianapolis | 21.4 | 12t | 29.3 | 31 | 7.8 |
| LA Chargers | 12.6 | 1 | 22.2 | 15 | 9.6 |
| Pittsburgh | 14.9 | 2 | 25.3 | 22 | 10.5 |
Myles Garrett wants to be traded, and the Eagles have been mentioned as a team that would love to bring him in. But let's add Washington to the mix as well, should the Browns change their stance on dealing him. How about a nice NFC East battle for one of the league's difference-making defenders.
Washington's defensive issues aren't a negative for Daniels and the Washington offense, though. I like the Samuel move, and I think I'll be liking Daniels and McLaurin in drafts next season. Even if they're still no better than No. 2 in the NFC East.
--Andy Richardson