The Washington Commanders are suddenly one of the top teams in the NFC heading into 2025.
After last year’s shocking (12-5) regular season finish and magical run to the first NFC Championship game since 1991, Washington has turned from one of the worst franchises in the NFL to a must-watch Super Bowl contender seemingly overnight.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that the NFL schedule features the Commanders in six primetime games, as many as Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
There’s plenty of credit to be given in D.C. starting with the new ownership group, GM Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn. They inherited one of the most toxic franchises in all of professional sports and when they got here, losing, drama, scandal and dysfunction was the norm.
But it’s felt like the new regime, from the top down, have made every right move since taking over and it’s paying off quickly.
Peters made the biggest decision of his young GM career so far when the Commanders chose to pick Jayden Daniels with the No. 2 overall pick in last year’s NFL Draft. Daniels played like a top 10 NFL QB all last season, putting up historic numbers and breaking records as he ran away with Offensive Rookie of the Year.
He showed the “clutch gene” that all of the great NFL quarterbacks have had. In six different games when Washington trailed within the final two minutes of the game, Daniels remained poised and led the Commanders to wins in all five of those high-pressure moments.
There’s no denying Daniels is the kind of QB that elevates the talent around him. Beyond Terry McLaurin and an aging Zach Ertz, the Commanders WR Corps was made up of players who would be No. 3 or No. 4 guys on other NFL teams.
Now over the offseason, Washington traded for Deebo Samuel, which gives the Commanders a true No. 2 wideout opposite of McLaurin.
But that’s assuming McLaurin gets a contract extension. So far, the Pro Bowl WR has sat out of all organized team activities and has expressed frustration over the delay on reaching a new agreement in D.C.
It’s highly unlikely that McLaurin isn’t playing for the Commanders in 2025, but Bleacher Report is predicting a blockbuster trade between Washington and the Arizona Cardinals.
BR proposed a trade that would send McLaurin to the desert in the NFC West in exchange for a 2026 2nd-round pick and edge rusher Zaven Collins.
The Arizona Cardinals might not seem like an obvious candidate for McLaurin because they added their No. 1 receiver when they drafted Marvin Harrison Jr, in 2024.
What the Cardinals don't have, however, is a top-tier receiver who can complement Harrison and help get more out of quarterback Kyler Murray. McLaurin could be that, and now could be the perfect time to add him.
Murray and head coach Jonathan Gannon are both entering a pivotal season. Murray hasn't performed at a Pro Bowl level since 2021 and may need help to get back to the form he had before his 2022 ACL tear. Gannon has delivered just 12 wins in his two seasons at the helm.
Adding McLaurin could help Murray return to his pre-injury production and, potentially, help Arizona get over .500. To sweeten the pot, the Cardinals could include edge-defender Zaven Collins, who had five sacks last season but could be a potential 2026 cap casualty.
The Cardinals could save $4.4 million this year by trading Collins, and they've added Calais Campbell, Josh Sweat and rookie first-round pick Walter Nolen III to their pass-rushing rotation this offseason.
Washington could be very interested in a little edge help. Bleacher Report's Alex Ballentine recently identified edge-rusher as the team's biggest post-draft need.