5 free-agent wide receivers the Commanders could sign in 2024

Commanders could sign D.J. Chark

I have always liked D.J. Chark. He has everything you would want in a wide receiver. Excellent size at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds along with dynamic 4.34 speed in the 40-yard dash.

Chark looked to be on the verge of stardom with the Jacksonville Jaguars after his breakout second season. But he has never built on that early success. An injury in 2021 led to his departure from the Jags. He has bounced from the Detroit Lions to the Carolina Panthers in subsequent years.

But he is still only 27 years old. Though his chances have been limited, he has still shown the ability to make plays downfield. His numbers over the past two seasons aren’t all that different from Jahan Dotson’s, despite playing in fewer games and seeing far fewer targets.

In those two down years, Chark has caught 65 balls at an eye-opening 15.8 yards per reception. The former second-round pick out of LSU has gotten into the end zone eight times.

Chark could fill the same role as someone like Tee Higgins - who was given the franchise tag by the Cincinnati Bengals - though he is not as versatile or consistent. For the Washington Commanders, he could line up on the outside, and stretch coverage, allowing Terry McLaurin, Dotson, and whatever other pieces they may add this offseason greater flexibility to work underneath.

He is almost certainly looking at another one-year deal for about half the annual salary of a player like Higgins. This makes him an intriguing lower-cost option.