4 position battles Commanders fans should watch this offseason
By Jerry Trotta
The Washington Commanders are currently participating in the second round of organized team activities. While Terry McLaurin remains absent amid his contract holdout, fans collectively rejoiced when it was reported pass rushers Chase Young and Montez Sweat reported after they missed the first week.
All in all, OTAs are more about shaking off the rust and allowing newcomers time to get acclimated and comfortable with their new teammates. The only physical contact — if you can even call it that — occurs at the line of scrimmage. Other than that, there’s no tackling (or pads) and very little intensity.
Despite that, however, OTAs do provide an early glimpse of how the roster is coming together. How will the rookies look against experienced NFL vets? Can any bubble players stake their claim for a spot on the 53-man roster? How’s the depth chart shaking out? These are just some of the questions that will get answered.
Given the Commanders’ 90-man offseason roster is largely final, roster battles can officially commence. With that in mind, let’s highlight some must-see dogfights fans should monitor over the course of the next few months.
4 position battles Commanders fans should watch
4. Wide Receiver
The Commanders’ top five wide receiver spots are seemingly locked and loaded. In order, the rotation should compose of Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, rookie Jahan Dotson, Cam Sims and second-year pro Dyami Brown.
Assuming the club keeps six wideouts on the 53-man, you’re looking at 2021 seventh-rounder Dax Milne, free-agent pickup Alex Erickson, old friend Kelvin Harmon, UDFAs Jequez Ezzard and Kyric McGowan and Marken Michel, a former Eagle whom Washington signed to a reserve/future contract after the 2021 regular season ended, as your main battle participants.
The expectation is most of that group will be practice squad stashes, as the Commanders will likely prioritize a return specialist for the final spot. With that in mind, Erickson, who has 268 career returns and led the NFL in kick return yards in 2016, is our current pick to make the team.
Ezzard is no stranger to returning kicks, so he could be an emergency option if one of Erickson or Milne got injured. Additionally, Dotson returned punts at Penn State and even shagged some during the opening week of practice at OTAs.