Dan Quinn faces huge roster call as Commanders brace for preseason showdown

With two of the top pass catchers for the Washington Commanders — Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown — missing time this offseason, the receiving depth is being tested.

Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury is awaiting the return of his top receiving threats, making a subtle jab at McLaurin to get back to work before he came off the physically unable to perform list. However, during his and Brown's absence, one receiver has stepped up to make a case for a roster spot — Ja'Corey Brooks.

After getting First Team All-ACC honors and finishing with a career-best 61 receptions for 1,013 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, Brooks heard 257 names called without hearing his during the draft.

Commanders must place a heavy burden on Ja'Corey Brooks against the Bengals

Despite his stats, what hurt the young wideout was his lack of speed and athleticism, as noted by his 4.15 Relative Athletic Score. This ranked 215th among wide receivers in the 2025 draft pool. Brooks did, however, have the highest contested catch rate (69.6 percent) among all receivers with at least 12 contested targets in the 2025 class.

Is his contested catch rate high due to his inability to separate? That's debatable, but one thing that isn't debatable is how he has shown out throughout camp and the preseason.

Over the first two days of camp, Brooks had three touchdowns playing both with the starters and reserves. He was also one of the players staying after practice to get more reps in. That's the type of dedication Dan Quinn has come to expect from his players.

He had a one-handed grab in the joint practice with the New England Patriots. Brooks followed that up by being one of the only bright spots for Washington in their first preseason game, reeling in all five of his targets for 59 receiving yards to lead the team.

He continued his strong performance in Friday's padded practice, with a downfield reception from Jayden Daniels and a contested catch toward the end of the session.