May 16, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Commanders wide receiver Deebo Samuels (L) and Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (R) wave to the crowd from courts wide during the game between the Washington Mystics and Atlanta Dream at CareFirst Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

How will the Washington Commanders use their new weapons?

Originally posted on Washington Commanders on SI
By David Harrison | Last updated Jul 21, 2025 8:00 AM ET

While there are big questions surrounding the future of the Washington Commanders and star receiver Terry McLaurin entering the week of training camp, there are others to answer as well.

Two of them are pretty big themselves, as the Commanders sent valuable draft capital from 2025 and 2026 to the San Francisco 49ers and the Houston Texans this offseason in exchange for receiver Deebo Samuel and offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, respectively.

How the two veterans fold into the mix in Washington is another big thing to watch this training camp, according to a recent NFL.com preview of the team's outlook.

"The future is now in Washington," says Jeremy Bergman of NFL.com. "Jayden Daniels' breakout rookie season was a clear indication of that. Further evidence came in general manager Adam Peters' actions this offseason, acquiring two key pieces in Deebo Samuel and Laremy Tunsil. Going for broke with the additions of a Swiss Army playmaker and a perennial Pro Bowl blindside blocker, Washington is speedily building an offense around Daniels and in his image. But to build off their NFC title game run in 2024, the Commanders need to first get their two new stars up and running in training camp. Samuel has already impressed teammates in (mandatory minicamp) despite online chatter that he's playing slower entering his seventh season, and Tunsil's veteran presence at offseason work has his coach fawning. How Samuel's role develops in training camp (more WR or RB?) will be the more interesting development (Tunsil is no doubt the starting LT), but both big names will have eyes on them in Ashburn, Virginia.

The fawning NFL.com is referencing came from head coach Dan Quinn during his appearance on The Green Light with Chris Long podcast, covered by this site, in which he said, "Laremy [Tunsil] 's caliber, like that was a big deal for us.

“I remember I had called Jayden. I said, ‘Man, I love you, but you know who really, really loves you? Adam.’”

That improved protection and addition of a short-area target is expected to allow offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury to further evolve his offense, which likes to utilize every area of the field through the exploitation of mismatches.

Giving Daniels more protection than he had as a rookie should give the quarterback more time and ability to find Samuel and the other targets, and hopefully, lead to an even more effective offense in 2025 than we saw last season.