Three free agent wide receivers the Washington Commanders could target in 2026

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs (87) pulls down a long reception in the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bears during their wild-card playoff football game Saturday, January 10, 2026, at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. | Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After last season's 5-12 finish, one thing is abundantly clear for Washington football fans. The team needs to add a significant amount of talent during the offseason. While Adam Peters will continue to use the draft, the Commanders GM will also have an estimated $82 million in cap space at his disposal after various projected restructures, releases, and dead cap hits. Jayden Daniels is entering his third year, and the clock is ticking on the franchise quarterback's rookie contract, making this arguably the most critical free agency of the new millennium for Washington. With free agency set to open on March 11th, Hogs Haven will be working to bring you articles on potential targets to fill various positions of need:

Top Needs:

• Edge
• Safety
• Linebacker
• Wide Receiver
• Cornerback
• Tight end

Secondary Needs:

• Running Back
• Defensive Tackle

In each article, we will briefly summarize the team's current situation at the position, traits the coaching staff will prioritize, along with a list of the top free agents and a detailed look at a few players that fit the team at different projected average annual values (AAV), typically one high-, one moderate-, and one low-cost contract.

Today, we move to the other side of the ball and take a look at wide receivers.

Position SummaryCurrently Under Contract:

• Terry McLaurin:On 2nd year of 3-year deal
• Luke McCaffery:On Year 3 of his rookie deal
• Jaylin Lane: On 2nd year of his rookie deal
• Ja'Corey Brooks:Reserve/futures contract
• Jacoby Jones: Reserve/futures contract
• Nick Nash: Reserve/futures contract

Significant Free Agents:

• Deebo Samuel
• Treylon Burks

Last season demonstrated the offense is severely limited if Terry McLaurin is not healthy and available. The hope is that Luke McCaffery and Jaylin Lane continue to develop, but both profile as WR3 candidates headed into next season. UDFA Ja'Corey Brooks received a lot of hype in the offseason but recorded no stats in 2025, and fellow undrafted free agent Jacoby Jones is known for that one catch" in London.

The promotion of David Blough to offensive coordinator feels like the end of Deebo Samuel's time in Washington. Although the team could still re-sign him, he is now a year older and did not look like the WR2 the Commanders need. Treylon Burks is an interesting candidate for an extension, but with only 10 catches for 130 yards and a TD on 22 targets, he is more wishful thinking than a long-term solution at the moment. Blough is expected to blend modern concepts with traditional West Coast offensive schemes including horizontal routes, play-action, and deep shots down the field. Deep field-stretchers and a savvy wide receiver to work the underneath will be priorities.

Top Wide Receiver Free Agents:

George Pickens

Jauan Jennings

Alec Pierce

Wan'dale Robinson

Deebo Samuel

Tyreek Hill

Rashid Shaheed

Mike Evans

Romeo Doubs

Keenan Allen

Marquise Brown

Christian Kirk

Calvin Austin

Jalen Nailor

Jalen Tolbert

Treylon Burks

Kalif Raymond

Kendrick Bourne

Wan'Dale Robinson, 25, Giants

Height/Weight: 5'8", 185 lbs

Career Stats:

	Receiving	Rushing	Scrimmage
Season	Age	Team	Lg	Pos	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD	1D	Succ%	Lng	R/G	Y/G	Ctch%	Y/Tgt	Att	Yds	TD	1D	Succ%	Lng	Y/A	Y/G	A/G	Touch	Y/Tch	YScm	RRTD	Fmb	AV	Awards
2022	21	NYG	NFL	WR	6	3	31	23	227	9.9	1	13	61.3	19	3.8	37.8	74.2	7.3	2	-1	0	0	50.0	4	-0.5	-0.2	0.3	25	9.0	226	1	0	2
2023	22	NYG	NFL	WR	15	8	78	60	525	8.8	1	29	53.8	33	4.0	35.0	76.9	6.7	9	87	1	4	66.7	32	9.7	5.8	0.6	69	8.9	612	2	0	4
2024	23	NYG	NFL	WR	17	7	140	93	699	7.5	3	36	42.1	35	5.5	41.1	66.4	5.0	3	18	0	1	33.3	14	6.0	1.1	0.2	96	7.5	717	3	0	5
2025	24	NYG	NFL	WR	16	15	140	92	1014	11.0	4	39	42.9	50	5.8	63.4	65.7	7.2	3	5	0	1	33.3	3	1.7	0.3	0.2	95	10.7	1019	4	1	10
4 Yrs		54	33	389	268	2465	9.2	9	117	46.3	50	5.0	45.6	68.9	6.3	17	109	1	6	52.9	32	6.4	2.0	0.3	285	9.0	2574	10	1	21
17 Game Avg		17	10	122	84	776	9.2	3	37	46.3	50	5.0	45.6	68.9	6.3	5	34	0	2	52.9	32	6.4	2.0	0.3	90	9.0	810	3	0	5

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/18/2026.

Spotrac Projection: 4 years, $70,568,060

AAV: $17.6M

Assuming George Pickens receives the franchise tag, Alec Pierce is the preferred top target. Fans know about him, the NFL knows about him, and there's a good chance he either receives the franchise tag himself or signs a deal north of $20M AAV, so let's move the conversation in a different direction.

At 5'8" and 185-pounds, Robinson is certainly a different type of player than Pierce, and while the Colts wide receiver has elite deep ball ability, Wan'Dale has a top-tier ability of his own. In 2025, PFF ranked him in the 82nd percentile in separation rate, reflecting his suddenness and plus route-running. Robinson also has sure, reliable hands, with only 3 drops on 140 targets last season. He's been a good slot receiver throughout his career.

What makes Robinson intriguing in free agency is the expanded route tree and increased average depth of target (4.8 to 8.5) he demonstrated last season. The final result was a career-best 92 receptions for 1,014 yards.

Wan'Dale Robinson had a career day with the New York Giants on Sunday vs. the Dallas Cowboys:

8 catches
142 yards (career-high)
1 touchdown pic.twitter.com/raPNYhENPa

- Cats Coverage (@Cats_Coverage) September 15, 2025

The ability to win deep gives the twenty-five-year-old and his projected $17 million AAV a lot of appeal in free agency. New Giants head coach John Harbaugh has indicated he would like to retain Robinson, but the Giants will have to be mindful of a future extension for Malik Nabers and several other cap decisions. The front office might view the slot receiver as the most readily replaceable. Adam Peters may hope Jaylin Lane becomes a similar player, but, at the moment, the two aren't comparable. Wan'Dale would be the savvy underneath wide receiver Blough needs for his offense right now.

Romeo Doubs, 25, Packers

Height/Weight: 6'2'', 204 lbs

Career Stats:

	Receiving	Rushing	Scrimmage
Season	Age	Team	Lg	Pos	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD	1D	Succ%	Lng	R/G	Y/G	Ctch%	Y/Tgt	Att	Yds	TD	1D	Succ%	Lng	Y/A	Y/G	A/G	Touch	Y/Tch	YScm	RRTD	Fmb	AV	Awards
2022	22	GNB	NFL	WR	13	7	67	42	425	10.1	3	20	46.3	26	3.2	32.7	62.7	6.3	1	11	0	1	100.0	11	11.0	0.8	0.1	43	10.1	436	3	2	4
2023	23	GNB	NFL	WR	17	16	96	59	674	11.4	8	46	51.0	36	3.5	39.6	61.5	7.0	0	0	0	0				0.0	0.0	59	11.4	674	8	1	7
2024	24	GNB	NFL	WR	13	12	72	46	601	13.1	4	34	59.7	39	3.5	46.2	63.9	8.3	0	0	0	0				0.0	0.0	46	13.1	601	4	0	6
2025	25	GNB	NFL	WR	16	15	85	55	724	13.2	6	41	58.8	48	3.4	45.3	64.7	8.5	0	0	0	0				0.0	0.0	55	13.2	724	6	1	8
4 Yrs		59	50	320	202	2424	12.0	21	141	54.1	48	3.4	41.1	63.1	7.6	1	11	0	1	100.0	11	11.0	0.2	0.0	203	12.0	2435	21	4	25
17 Game Avg		17	14	92	58	698	12.0	6	41	54.1	48	3.4	41.1	63.1	7.6	0	3	0	0	100.0	11	11.0	0.2	0.0	58	12.0	702	6	1	6

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/20/2026.

Spotrac Projection: 4 years, $48,012,692

AAV: $12.0M

Doubs is another wide receiver coming off a career year. In 2025, with Jayden Reed and Christian Watson on the shelf, Doubs established himself as one of Jordan Love's preferred targets with 55 receptions for 724 yards and 6 touchdowns, averaging 13.2 yards per catch over 16 games. Romeo has generally improved as a receiver each season and hit career highs in 2025 for yards per route run (73rd percentile) and yards per reception (65th percentile). Doubs possesses good size and speed, and while he was very raw as a rookie, he has become a polished route runner that can win on all three levels:

Malik Willis' 33-yard TD pass to Romeo Doubs traveled 40.2 yards in the air, the longest completion of the game, and the game's first deep pass attempt (20+ yards downfield).

Willis (Tonight): 3/4, 69 yards, TD over 10 air yards#GBvsCHI | #GoPackGopic.twitter.com/AbmIRCQTEp

- Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) December 21, 2025

Doubs is sudden enough to lineup in the slot and attract targets. Gotta appreciate that alignment versatility. pic.twitter.com/S3jBIux3n2

- Brandon Carwile (@BCarwile_NFL) September 27, 2022

Along with his strengths, Doubs has a few weaknesses. At times, he vanishes from games and has also struggled with the drops during his career. Romeo ranks in the 32nd percentile in drop rate when compared to the rest of the league. He also has a somewhat extensive injury history including two concussions in 2024. Doubs' other weakness comes with the ball in his hands as he is not a playmaker after the catch, ranking in the lower third in yards after catch per reception. Still, Romeo can be clutch when needed, especially in short areas of the field. He is now up to 23 career touchdowns, ranking in the 71st percentile for touchdowns per target.

It all adds up to a mid-level contract for a player that is almost guaranteed to depart the Packers in free agency. If signed to an affordable contract, Doubs would be a free agent win for a WR room that has no young, proven talent.

Jalen Nailor, 26, Vikings

Height/Weight: 5'11'', 195 lbs

Career Stats:

	Receiving	Rushing	Scrimmage
Season	Age	Team	Lg	Pos	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD	1D	Succ%	Lng	R/G	Y/G	Ctch%	Y/Tgt	Att	Yds	TD	1D	Succ%	Lng	Y/A	Y/G	A/G	Touch	Y/Tch	YScm	RRTD	Fmb	AV	Awards
2022	23	MIN	NFL	WR	15	0	13	9	179	19.9	1	7	69.2	47	0.6	11.9	69.2	13.8	0	0	0	0				0.0	0.0	9	19.9	179	1	0	1
2023	24	MIN	NFL	WR	6	1	6	3	29	9.7	0	1	33.3	16	0.5	4.8	50.0	4.8	0	0	0	0				0.0	0.0	3	9.7	29	0	0	0
2024	25	MIN	NFL	WR	17	7	42	28	414	14.8	6	24	59.5	33	1.6	24.4	66.7	9.9	3	-4	0	1	33.3	3	-1.3	-0.2	0.2	31	13.2	410	6	1	4
2025	26	MIN	NFL	WR	17	8	53	29	444	15.3	4	23	49.1	62	1.7	26.1	54.7	8.4	2	13	0	1	50.0	15	6.5	0.8	0.1	31	14.7	457	4	0	4
4 Yrs		55	16	114	69	1066	15.4	11	55	54.4	62	1.3	19.4	60.5	9.4	5	9	0	2	40.0	15	1.8	0.2	0.1	74	14.5	1075	11	1	9
17 Game Avg		17	5	35	21	329	15.4	3	17	54.4	62	1.3	19.4	60.5	9.4	2	3	0	1	40.0	15	1.8	0.2	0.1	23	14.5	332	3	0	2

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/20/2026.

Spotrac Projection: 1 year, $4,734,329

AAV: $4.7M

When targeting free agents, it is wise to include players with the nickname Speedy," the moniker of our next player. Jalen Nailor was a sixth-round selection by the Vikings, and his 4.50 40-yard dash was a good part of the reason. Nailor has developed slowly over his career and is currently the fourth receiving option in Kevin O'Connell's offense. While his 2025 stat line of 29 receptions for 444 yards and four touchdowns might not seem impressive, fans should remember that he was catching passes from JJ McCarthy, Carson Wentz, and Max Brosmer.

Nailor is adept at finding holes in zones and coverages. Primarily utilized in the slot by the Vikings, Nailor also has inside-out versatility, and while he is not quite the burner his nickname might imply, he can challenge defenders vertically out of multiple alignments. Here is a clip of one of his TDs in 2024:

Came out swinging in the 2nd half.@jalennailor

: @NFLonFOXpic.twitter.com/W1Rznq8oEj

- Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 8, 2024

While the clip is older, it shows how Nailor can capitalize on a simple switch route when the cornerback makes an error in coverage. Jalen might not have the speed of a top wide receiver, but his athleticism translates to the field, and he can win early at the line of scrimmage. That is something the Commanders are lacking. The Vikings may try to bring him back, but Nailor should test free agency, where a short-term deal with Jayden Daniels might help secure a lucrative contract before the receiver reaches his thirties. As an added bonus, Nailor has some familiarity with David Blough as the two overlapped during his rookie year with the Vikings.

Bottom Line

It seems hard to believe, but Terry McLaurin is winding down his time with the Burgundy & Gold. The Commanders would be smart to pair Jayden Daniels with a young, ascending talent for the remainder of his rookie contract. Doubs makes a lot sense in terms of value and fit that would work well across from McLaurin, and be able to step into Terry's role if needed. While there may be opportunities to draft players like Germie Bernard, Adam Peters should make sure he acquires a starting-level talent in free agency and would be well advised to add a few high-upside depth players as he rounds out the team's roster.