Washington Commanders wide receiver Luke McCaffrey Perry Knotts/GettyImages

Commanders could be wasting their most intriguing playmaker

Originally posted on Riggo's Rag | By Ryan McCafferty | Last updated Oct 18, 2025 12:00 PM ET

The Washington Commanders are at a crossroads through six weeks of the season. At 3-3 with a brutal schedule ahead, this next month will determine whether or not they can back up last year's stunning NFC Championship game run.

Life has been especially hard for the Commanders this year due to the limited availability in the wide receiver room. Star wideout Terry McLaurin has missed the past three contests and is out for Week 7. Noah Brown, who has now been placed on injured reserve, has been absent for the last four.

This has opened the door for Washington's depth to step up. Youngsters Jaylin Lane and Luke McCaffrey have taken steps forward, but they haven't been on the field enough — particularly the latter.

Commanders remain hesitant to get Luke McCaffrey heavily involved

McCaffrey was written off by some after a disappointing rookie season, but he has made significant progress in Year 2. Through only six weeks, he's already eclipsed his receiving yardage from last year and has caught three touchdowns after having none in 2024.

A number of his catches have been huge, game-swinging plays, such as his go-ahead 33-yard touchdown grab in Week 6 and his 50-yard haul to set Washington up for a game-tying field goal at the end of the first half in Week 5. He's a solid deep threat whose speed and tackle-breaking abilities make him a threat to gain chunks of yardage anytime he touches the ball. Yet, it's only found him eight times this season.

There's a reason for that.

Interesting to see the WR snap counts from last night. People ask why Luke doesnt get more targets, he's not on the field all that much, then not all his snaps are passes, then not every pass is gonna go his way, etc pic.twitter.com/uk03kayhLF
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) October 14, 2025

Simply put, despite his growth, the Commanders still aren't getting McCaffrey involved enough. He hasn't seen more than 40 percent of the offensive snaps in any game this season, and that's with two players ahead of him on the depth chart injured. Chris Moore, who, to his credit, had a productive outing against the Chicago Bears, was featured more prominently.

It's unclear what the holdup is, as Moore brings nothing to the table that McCaffrey doesn't, except for experience. With Lane, it's understandable to bring him along slowly in the receiving game, but for a second-year player taken in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, it's much more puzzling.

McCaffrey has a firm grasp of Kliff Kingsbury's system by now. He is making plays when his number is called. Yet the kiddie wheels haven't come off.

The time is now or never to fully unleash McCaffrey. There's a real possibility Washington could be without Deebo Samuel Sr. as well as Brown and McLaurin for Week 7 versus the Dallas Cowboys, making him the team's most productive available receiver. If the Commanders are still only going to use him as some utility backup, it makes one wonder what their long-term plan for him is.

Everyone in Washington wants to see McCaffrey emerge as a star in the Commanders' offense. But it remains to be seen if the team can bring out the best in his abilities.

This article first appeared on Riggo's Rag and was syndicated with permission.

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