Samuel to play mostly outside?

Washington beat writer JP Finlay expects WR Curtis Samuel to line up on the outside "more often than not" this season. Samuel excelled last year while playing 61% of his snaps in the slot. He played just 32% in the slot back in 2019 and was much less efficient -- although crappy QB play was at least partly to blame. That 2019 campaign came under OC Scott Turner, who Samuel is reuniting with in Washington. We'll keep an eye on his usage this summer, but we'd prefer to see him inside. Finlay believes that with Samuel playing mostly outside the numbers, Adam Humphries will be the team's #3 and primary slot receiver. That'd leave WR Dyami Brown as no better than the #4 WR.

Dyami Brown was the big producer among Commanders WRs in Sunday's loss to the Titans. He caught just 2 passes among 4 targets for the game, but both went for scores -- from 75 and 30 yards out. Brown ranked just 5th among Washington wideouts in playing time, though. Curtis Samuel led the group, and led the team in targets for the 5th straight game. He caught 6 of 8 looks for 62 yards. Terry McLaurin trailed Samuel and J.D. McKissic but posted a solid 5-76 receiving line on his 6 targets.

Commanders WR Curtis Samuel put in a full practice Friday and carries no injury designation into Sunday's game against the Titans. He missed the 1st 2 days with an illness but looks set to go in an upside matchup Samuel has led Washington in targets each game.

Commanders WRs Curtis Samuel (illness) and Jahan Dotson (hamstring) remained out of practice Thursday. Samuel still has time to rebound ahead of Sunday's game against the Titans. We wouldn't bet on Dotson being available, though.

WR Curtis Samuel led the Commanders in targets for the 3rd straight game in Sunday's loss to the Eagles. His 10 stood 1 ahead of WR Terry McLaurin and RB J.D. McKissic and 2 ahead of WR Jahan Dotson. TE Logan Thomas trailed in 5th place with 3 looks. Samuel caught a team-high 7 balls but collected a mere 48 yards (6.9 per catch). McLaurin turned his 6 receptions into 102 yards, while Dotson managed just 2 catches for 10 yards amid 8 targets. Through 3 weeks, QB Carson Wentz ranks 4th in the league in pass attempts, which has helped the volume of every pass-catcher.

For the 2nd straight game, WR Curtis Samuel led all Commanders in targets Sunday. He drew 9 in the 36-27 loss to Detroit, catching 7 for 78 yards and a TD. (Samuel added a carry for 21 yards.) WR Terry McLaurin checked in 2nd, catching 4 of his 8 targets for 75 yards. J.D. McKissic rebounded from a quiet Week 1 to rank 3rd with 7 targets, catching all of them for 54 yards. WR Jahan Dotson and TE Logan Thomas garnered 5 looks apiece and each caught a TD.