3 wide receivers Commanders should avoid in free agency

2. Allen Robinson

It wasn’t long ago that we would’ve wanted Washington to throw the bag at Allen Robinson. We won’t go as far as to say those days are over, but we’d rather not pay a wideout entering his age-29 season over $15 million per year.

To put it kindly, Robinson was a disaster this past season. Some of that can obviously be attributed to the Bears’ paltry passing offense, but it’s pretty alarming 2020 fifth-rounder Darnell Mooney was more productive.

While Robinson missed five games due to injury, a preeminent No. 1 receiver would’ve been close to leading Chicago in receiving. Instead, he finished fourth in catches behind Mooney (81 to 38), Cole Kmet and David Montgomery.

Again, if Mooney didn’t skip a beat catching passes from Justin Fields, what excuse does Robinson, a former Pro Bowler, have? We don’t want to hear that he was focused on staying healthy for free agency. If that was his plan, it didn’t work because a hamstring injury knocked him out five games between Weeks 10-15.

Additionally, Robinson earned the worst PFF grade of his career at 66.9. To put that mark into context, he earned a combined 81.3 grade over the three previous seasons. His 55.7 passer rating when targeted was easily the worst of his career, too.

Robinson is only one season removed from posting 100 catches for 1,250 yards and six touchdowns. Could he replicate those numbers with improved QB play? Potentially, but the Commanders shouldn’t sit around and find out, especially considering PFF thinks he’ll sign for $16 million per year.