Why Dyami Brown, Treylon Burks Matter for 2026 Washington Commanders

Washington's receiver room behind Terry McLaurin hasn't had a reliable second option in quite some time. Deebo Samuel has not been re-signed, and the depth chart is thin. But two of the names already back in the building — Dyami Brown and Treylon Burks — are worth more than the casual fan gives them credit for. Both have battle scars. Both came back to Washington by choice and have something to prove. 

Brown was Washington's third-round pick in 2021 out of North Carolina, where he averaged over 20 yards per reception in his final college season. The speed was never the question — it was always about finding a role that let it breathe. For four years in Washington, he was a vertical threat on the perimeter who flashed in spots but couldn't stay on the field consistently enough to build on the momentum.

His best stretch came in the 2024 playoffs. When Washington needed him, Brown delivered — 14 receptions on 18 targets for 229 yards and a touchdown across two postseason games. Those aren't garbage-time numbers. That's a receiver who showed up in January against real defenses and made real plays. He left for Jacksonville on a one-year, $10 million deal, expecting a bigger role. He got a shoulder injury instead. Twenty receptions, 227 yards, and a disappearing act in the second half of the season as the Jaguars faded.

But he came back. He didn't have to — plenty of teams were interested. Brown chose Washington again, called the city his home, and showed up this offseason saying he understands the game better than he ever has. At 26, with 79 career receptions for 1,011 yards and five touchdowns across five seasons, he's not a star. He's a deep-threat complement who runs clean routes down the sideline, wins in contested situations, and can turn a 50-50 ball into a 60-yard gain when Daniels puts it in the air. In a David Blough offense with play-action built around Daniels' arm talent, Brown is the vertical piece that makes defenses think twice about sitting in a single high safety.

Burks' path to Washington is one of the more complicated stories in recent memory. The Titans traded A.J. Brown to the Eagles for the 18th overall pick in 2022 and used it on Burks out of Arkansas, where he'd put up 1,104 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior. Six-foot-two, 225 pounds, built like a tight end with receiver speed. The comp everyone reached for was AJ Brown himself. It was never going to end well.

Injuries did most of the damage. Turf toe. Knee issues. A broken collarbone in camp last summer that sent him to injured reserve before the Titans cut him loose entirely. By the time Washington signed him to the practice squad in October 2025, Burks had 53 career catches in three-plus years with Tennessee. Not what a top-20 pick is supposed to look like.

What happened next in Washington was the first glimpse of who Burks might actually be in the right situation. In eight games after getting elevated to the active roster, he caught 10 of 22 targets for 130 yards and a touchdown — a one-handed grab against the Broncos in overtime that's the kind of play you make when you've been counted out, and you know it. He came back on a one-year deal worth up to $4 million before anyone else could get to him. That's a player who sees something in this offense and wants to be part of it. 

At 26 and finally healthy, Burks gives Blough a matchup problem that almost nobody in this league knows how to defend — a 225-pound receiver with legitimate route-running ability who can split out wide, line up in the slot, or work as an H-back off motion. Defenses that bracket McLaurin with a safety leave Burks in a one-on-one situation against a linebacker. That's not a fair fight for the linebacker.

Neither Brown nor Burks is the answer at WR2. But together, they could be.