Where will the Washington Commanders turn at tight end ahead of the 2026 season?
With Washington's quarterback and wide receiver rooms a near-revolving door each week through the 2025 season with Deebo Samuel proving to be the mainstay in the weekly starting 11, the tight end room proved to be the foundation of the offense with veteran and future Hall of Famer Zach Ertz stepping up.
Ertz finished the 2025 season second on the team with 50 catches and four receiving touchdowns and third with 504 receiving yards, but his dominant season was cut short after being the first of two injuries suffered in the third quarter against Minnesota before being diagnosed with a torn ACL.
General manager Adam Peters admitted, "I don't anticipate him being ready at the beginning of the season" as the Commanders evaluate the position this offseason.
"So you look and to develop and really utilize those three guys as skillset and I think they're all really good players in their own right."
That leaves Washington with the rest of its still largely unproven room behind him. Ben Sinnott recorded a catch in each of his last five games, including a 36-yard reception to seal the win against the Giants, while John Bates closed the year with a pair of catches including a fourth quarter touchdown in the season finale win against Philadelphia. Second-year Colson Yankoff, meanwhile, finished with just two catches for 18 yards on three targets.
"Ben's developing a lot. He's got a lot better this year and I think he's got another level to go to. John’s one of the best blocking tight ends in the league and Colson's kind of a jack of all trades, been an excellent special teams player for a tight end," Peters said of the rest of the room behind Ertz.
But the Commanders also enter the offseason with several productive tight ends available including David Njoku, Dallas Goedert, Isaiah Likely, Darren Waller, Cade Otton and Chigoziem Okonkwo among others expected to be available. With plenty of cap space and a need to upgrade the skill players around quarterback Jayden Daniels in his third season, the Commanders could look externally to upgrade the room but Adam Peters knows what he is looking at when assessing the room ahead of free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft.
"So, as you're looking at it right there, where can you find someone who's really, really good on third down?," Peters added. "Could it be one of those guys? Somebody can always get open so the quarterback can always rely on can it be one of those guys or are we going to go outside whether the draft or free agency and get that. So, you know, think of a Zach Ertz type of skillset where Jayden knows where he is going to be when he is going to be, and trust that he's going to catch the ball and make the play, which he did really incredibly for the last two years and that's sorely missed. For sure."
Adam Peters did, however, give clear insight into where the Commanders need to upgrade the defense in 2026.