Should Washington Commanders Push for Brian Thomas Jr, Josh Downs?

As the trade deadline approaches on Tuesday, the Washington Commanders were reportedly among the teams evaluating the wide receiver market. Two names have been floating nearly consistently over the last week: Jacksonville Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr. and Indianapolis Colts WR Josh Downs.

Thomas is one who has been a near-consistent name in the rumor mill dating back to last season, marking a deflating reality for the former first round pick.

Thomas was a top target alongside Malik Nabers during Daniels' 2023 Heisman season, with 68 catches for 1,177 yards and 17 TDs. His combination of production, 6-foot-2 size with a 4.33 time in the 40 yard dash and 38.5-inch vertical was more than enough to go 23rd overall to the Jaguars in the 2023 NFL Draft. He was a breakout rookie, with 87 catches for 1,282 yards and ten touchdowns, made the All-Rookie team and was clearly a star.

After that, the production struggled and Thomas simply couldn't reproduce his excellent rookie year. He was out with wrist, shoulder and ankle injuries for three games and his availability was severely curtailed throughout the year. His production was down massively to 47 catches for 707 yards and two touchdowns, though he did score in the wild card loss to the Bills in Jacksonville.

He's had a real struggle to adapt to Liam Coen's new offensive scheme and system. Parker Washington and Jakobi Myers have both moved ahead of him on the depth chart as the intermediate threat. He's now behind Travis Hunter and even rookie Josh Cameron got more targets than Thomas in Thursday's win over the Ravens. That's a massive and very concerning drop in his role and the team's confidence in his ability to be a meaningful contributor to the offense in the future games and seasons.

Josh Downs, who reportedly made a trade request to the reeling Colts' squad, is up to 30 catches for 330 yards and one touchdown in 2026, on pace to post similar production to 2025. Through four seasons in Indianapolis, the former third round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft has amassed nearly 2,500 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns on 228 catches and 55 games.

A shifty wide receiver who can add value in the slot, the 5-foot-9 Downs has been linked to the Commanders with news that the front office has monitored the trade market at the position. Whether he's worth it, much less for a struggling Commanders team, may be the bigger question.

The same can be said for Thomas, who would be able to reconnect with his former college quarterback after overlapping with Jayden Daniels for two seasons at LSU. Though his second NFL season proved a setback, Thomas still averaged 14.7 yards per catch. With McLaurin, Brown and Burks all injured, Washington's receiver room isn't quite as deep as Jacksonville's. He has a real established chemistry with Daniels so that could be the catalyst to get his career back on track. Washington would be looking at this trade with a long-term view in terms of supporting their franchise QB.

The case against the move may also stem from the week nine loss after watching veteran Van Jefferson stick out on repeated catches, whether for big gains or moving the chains. Yet the record also looms large given a 2-5-1 record likely doesn't command Washington and the front office to move into the direction of a buyer in the 11th hour. The flip side is whether general manager Adam Peters is incentivized to capitalize on the narrowing window with Jayden Daniels still on his rookie contract?