Nov 10, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn looks on from the sidelines against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second half at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images Amber Searls-Imagn Images

New Commanders receiver drawing strong reviews from head coach

Originally posted on Washington Commanders on SI
By Dustin Lewis | Last updated Jun 13, 2025 7:00 AM ET

Trades were a major theme of the Washington Commanders' offseason.

In an effort to stock up the roster and gather the pieces for a potential Super Bowl run, Washington went out and acquired left tackle Laremy Tunsil from the Houston Texans and wide receiver Deebo Samuel from the San Francisco 49ers.

The Commanders are only returning two pass-catchers who eclipsed 500+ yards last season, All-Pro wide receiver Terry McLaurin and veteran tight end Zach Ertz. McLaurin obviously isn't with the team at the moment while trying to lock down a new contract. Ertz had his best campaign since 2019 and will turn 35 years old during the middle of the season, so it's tough to say if he'll be able to match his performance from 2024.

Plus, the team saw veteran wide receiver Noah Brown suffer an injury on Wednesday and his immediate status is unclear.

That makes the addition of Samuel absolutely pivotal for the Commanders and he projects to be a major weapon for second-year quarterback Jayden Daniels.

Samuel is looking to rebound after being banged up for most of last season. Early in his time in Washington, the versatile playmaker has reminded head coach Dan Quinn of how good he really is.

The physicality obviously jumps off the page but it's Samuel's speed that has Quinn raving.

"Deebo [Samuel] I think has been very impressive to me for maybe a different reason than I thought," Samuel said according to CommanderGameday's David Harrison. "He was such a difficult person to tackle that you spent so much time, ‘How are you going to tackle this person?’ And somewhere along the way, I've forgotten until out here how fast he is."

"And so, sometimes when you're playing against the receiver you say, ‘Man, you better either get him at the line or you better be on top of him.’ With him so many times there was so many run after catch plays that we had a tackling plan and how would you go about it?" Quinn added. "And then I can remember one time he just ran by somebody down the field on a deep ball and I was like, ‘Yeah, I forgot about that’ [laughs]. So that, it didn't surprise me, but it was maybe I missed talking about it to that space because it was easily reminded, he's one of the fastest players on the team.”

Last season, Samuel started in 15 games, catching 51 passes for 670 yards and three touchdowns while rushing 42 times for 136 yards and a score.

Samuel has racked up nearly 6,000 yards from scrimmage and 42 touchdowns during his professional career. He was a Pro Bowler and a First-Team All-Pro in 2021.