Commanders Have All-Pro Alternative to Deebo Samuel Trade

Trading for Deebo Samuel makes sense for the Washington Commanders on a surface level, but a raid for his NFC West rival, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf, may be the smarter move.

That’s the view of NFL.com’s Adam Rank. He explained why Metcalf is a better fit for the Commanders than San Francisco 49ers All-Pro Samuel and Los Angeles Rams wideout Cooper Kupp: “This would be the NFC West receiver I would be looking at this offseason, rather than Samuel or Kupp. I feel DK Metcalf would have the most to offer a team — like the Commanders, especially if they miss out on other options — that could use an upgrade at the position; he’s still just 27 years old and has topped 900 receiving yards in each of his six pro seasons so far.”

It’s a strong argument, particularly when added to Metcalf still being a size mismatch. One who can be moved around formations to attack defenses from multiple alignments.

Those things make Metcalf an ideal running mate for Commanders No. 1 receiver Terry McLaurin, a natural playmaker on the perimeter.

DK Metcalf Can Add What Commanders Are Missing

McLaurin is a scrappy coverage-beater who wins with tenacity and deceptive speed. What he’s not is a 6-foot-4, 235-pounder who can out-muscle almost every defensive back in the NFL.

Metcalf is able to bully defenders on the outside and from the slot. It’s an area from where the Commanders could use some more big plays after 2024 NFL draft third-round pick Luke McCaffrey struggled to make much of an impact.

The Seahawks gave Metcalf 100 snaps in the slot last season, per Player Profiler. That number should increase as the 27-year-old is entering his seventh NFL season.

Metcalf could well be playing his next campaign outside of Seattle. He’s a potential candidate for trade, despite some of the best numbers of the league since arriving as a second-round pick back in 2019, per StatMuse Football.

While Matt Calkins of The Seattle Times thinks a trade if far from certain, he did note how Metcalf “is heading into the last season of his three-year, $72 million contract. This is usually the time when a highly-coveted player on the last year of his deal re-ups with Seattle, but it hasn’t happened yet. Maybe it will, but big-name receivers command gargantuan amounts of cash these days, and it’s possible the Seahawks don’t want to commit.”

There are good reasons for the Seahawks not to pay up. Notably, the presence of fellow receivers Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Tyler Lockett.

The Commanders have already been mooted as a possible trade partner, and there’s a lot of merit to dealing for Metcalf. Although perhaps not as much as swinging a trade for Samuel.

Deebo Samuel Still the Best Fit for Commanders

Having the inside track to Samuel is an advantage the Commanders shouldn’t ignore. The presence of general manager Adam Peters, former assistant GM for the Niners, can smooth the path to any trade for a Pro Bowler even more versatile than Metcalf.

While the latter is a three-time 1,000-yard receiver and second-team All-Pro in 2020, Samuel is a dual-threat game-breaker who earned first-team honors a year later.

Samuel has snagged 334 catches and also rushed 202 times since entering the pros the same year as Metcalf. He’s still an after-catch specialist who comes alive in the red zone.

Like for this touchdown against the Miami Dolphins in Week 16.

Putting Samuel in the backfield next to similarly multi-faceted quarterback Jayden Daniels would open up the playbook in a ton of creative ways for Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.

Like Metcalf, Samuel has also been linked with a trade to Washington. The 29-year-old has a contract set to pay him $17.5 million in non-guaranteed money for 2025 and with a dead cap amount worth $31,020,600, according to Spotrac.com’s Michael Ginnitti.

Metcalf, meanwhile, carries a cap hit of $31,875,000. The Commanders have the salary cap space to afford either, but Samuel still looks like the ideal fit.