Equipping Jayden Daniels with more talent at wide receiver is the best way for the Washington Commanders to maximize their rookie quarterback’s talents, no matter the cost, and trading for Ja’Marr Chase would be worth giving up two first-round draft picks.
It’s a scenario mapped out by Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame. He has the Commanders sending first-round choices in the 2025 and 2026 NFL drafts to the Cincinnati Bengals. The AFC North franchise would also get second- and fifth-round selections in 2025 and a third-rounder a year later.
That’s a hefty haul, but Chase makes for a worthy prize. The 24-year-old is a former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year with three Pro-Bowl berths and four 1,000-yard campaigns on his CV.
Giving up a wideout as talented as Chase would likely see the Bengals “ridiculed as cheap. They’ll be called lost. They’ll be ripped from coast to coast,” according to Verderame. Yet he also thinks if the Bengals “nail their draft picks, they’ll also be right” to deal Chase.
The Commanders would be fine either way because they’d get a bluechip pass-catcher to partner Terry McLaurin and accelerate Daniels’ already impressive development.
Ja’Marr Chase Would Transform Commanders WR Corps
Chase would be a transformative player for a Commanders offense lacking elite receivers beyond McLaurin. The latter is also a four-time 1,000-yard receiver, but even McLaurin struggles to match Chase’s field-stretching speed and after-catch skills.
Those traits have helped Chase average a gaudy 14.5 yards per reception this season. He’s also tallying 6.8 yards after catch per reception, the second-highest mark of his career, according to Pro Football Reference.
Chase put it all together for a 67-yard catch and run to score a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 10. As Next Gen Stats detailed, Chase “gained 49 yards after the catch, +35 YAC over expected on his 67-yard catch and run from Joe Burrow. Chase reached a top speed of 20.86 mph, his 3rd-fastest speed of the season.”
The case for acquiring Chase is straightforward. Especially since “for any team, it’s tough to pay quarterback money for a receiver. For Cincinnati, it’s borderline unfathomable,” per Verderame.
Keeping Chase and fellow receiver Tee Higgins, who’s ticketed for free agency, will prove beyond difficult for the Bengals. Trying to fit two marquee receivers under the salary cap is a problem the Commanders would love to have.
Cash-Rich Commanders Can Find Help for Terry McLaurin
The Commanders wouldn’t face anywhere near the same difficulty making room for Chase. Not when the team is currently projected by Spotrac.com to have $103,680,026 available under the salary cap.
That’s enough to get McLaurin the help he needs. No. 17 has become a marked man by NFL defenses consistently rolling double coverage his way.
Daniels knows an over-reliance on McLaurin is a problem. Fortunately, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury responded with a new plan for Daniels’ go-to receiver.
The updated strategy worked during a win over the Tennessee Titans in Week 13, but it will take more than X’s and O’s to draw coverage away from McLaurin. That will only happen if opposing teams have enough fear and respect for another Commanders wideout.
No such respect exists for Noah Brown, Olamide Zaccheaus, Dyami Brown and Daniels’ fellow rookie Luke McCaffrey. It would be a different story with Chase in the lineup, and there’d still be enough cash to address the offensive line in free agency.
