COMMANDERS REVAMP: How Treylon Burks’ RETURN SHIFTS 2026 Offense—Top Receiver NEEDS Unveiled

trail in Berks is back and while Alec Pierce led the league with over 20 yards per reception last year pairing him with Terry McClaren

May not be so easy.

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Perhaps remember the media covering the Washington commanders for WSA 9 also writing for commanders on SI here with you five days a week and coming up on today's

episode continuing our primary or our free agent primer looking at every position group on the wash commanders roster.

What they need how big the needs are and who some of the potential candidates are.

And of course, I'm going to make predictions so that you can hold them against me in a court of law.

All that coming up on today's episode of locked on commanders part of the locked on podcast network, your team every day.

And beyond Terry McClaren and Luke McCaffrey.

And now Traylon Berks room is functionally empty while I agree that Jaylen Lane performed better as a receiver in 2025 than expected.

And even Traylon Berks, let's be honest, like Traylon Berks wasn't exactly a production monster for the wild.

But I think given the expectations of what they were supposed to do what they have been coming in from, you know, obviously Jaylen Lane is a rookie who's expected to basically just be a special teams contributor.

I think all these guys did better than you can probably ask them to do with what going on in the season. But again, there's nothing that tells me we know that Jaylen Lane is ready to take a step to be a key part of this offense.

We don't know that Traylon Berks is going to come in and just be a monster for this offense. We don't know that Luke McCaffrey is going to come in and be a serious contributor.

We feel like we know Terry McClaren is going to be Terry because Terry has always been Terry, but those injuries last year, obviously give some reason for folks to pause and whether or not that post 30 year old physical breakdown is starting to happen.

Right. So I think there's some things that can be debated in here and there's really no reason to debate them because usually people just call each other names and they can still get silly, but the bottom line is we know.

Then the current offensive break down for the Washington commanders, Terry McClaren, Traylon Berks, Nick Nash, Jacobi Brooks, Luke McCaffrey, Jaylen Lane, Jacobi Jones, those are receivers on the roster for 2026.

As of right now, Traylon Berks, the most recent re addition right one year up to $4 million deal.

I think that's a very important key to that Adam Peters, basically betting on the flashes, Traylon Berks, betting on the environment, betting on the fact that this is a team that he thinks that he wants to be a part of.

It is not a small thing here, ladies and gentlemen, the Traylon Berks again, he's a first round pick entering the national football league.

While everybody wants to laugh at the Tennessee Titans and point at them, trust me, they're not the only team that had a high grade on Traylon Berks. Maybe they had a first round grade every team, but teams had high grades on Traylon Berks.

And there are coaches out there in the NFL who believe they could turn Traylon Berks into what he was supposed to be when he went to Tennessee.

So the fact that he opted to sign the deal that he got, which I believe is going to be very heavily incentives based instead of testing free agency to maybe go out there and get another team to sign him to a better deal.

I think that speaks a lot to what's going on with the Washington commanders, obviously had the catch of the year last year and all that kind of stuff.

So when you look at it, you kind of look at, you know, Terry McCloren is right now, like right now, based on the roster that you have, Terry McClore and your ex, he's right receiver one, you know, he's going to be lined up on the boundary.

I think that Traylon Berks is your big slot type of guy. I think again, we've talked about this on the show. I'm not sliding him there per se right now. I'm just kind of putting him on the depth chart. We'll see what happens in free agency and whether we move him or not, but I've talked about that idea. The reason I'm not putting him in the slides because right now that's a me idea.

For sure, that's what David Blas is going to do. I can't tell you for sure. That's what's about to happen with Traylon Berks here with the Washington commanders, but that's where I think he should go.

As of right now, the last time we saw him, he's primarily an outside receiver. So that's where we're going to kind of slot him for a lack of a better term.

So you have two primary vacancies. You need a true vertical receiver to play that X right Luke McCaffer can play the X and yes, he's got some wheels and all that kind of stuff, but he doesn't have the type of top coverage bursting ability that some of the other receivers do.

And Alec Pierce is someone that has been long targeted or long mentioned as the number one receiver target on the free agent market. He certainly fits the bill as that extra receiver being able to go out there and stretch the field.

And he's led the NFL in yards per reception to consecutive seasons 21.3 yards per catch on average in 2025 alone. He's turned into quite decontested catch artist and all those things.

And he certainly creates a mismatch on the field 25 years old six foot three four four speed coming off of a thousand and three yard season in Indianapolis.

Despite the fact they only had 84 targets. That's that's kind of insane numbers when you think about it. 84 targets over a thousand yards of production.

Jayden Daniels considered to be one of the better deep ball passers in the National Football League. So the connection the logic is absolutely there appears is the league's most efficient deep ball receiver as of late.

It's made him a mismatch.

It's a vaunt for the Annapolis Colts offense now you by putting Alec Pierce on the outside. Safety's can't cheat down. They can't collapse at top coverage.

And this opens up things they call it the honey hole right for guys like Terry McLaren in the middle of the field, especially be run Terry in the slot or Traylen Berks in the slot or Luke McCaffer in the slot or Ben Senate or whoever the tight ends are over the middle of the field.

Alec Pierce really kind of helps open up all that kind of stuff. And of course if you have Alec and Terry on the outside Traylen Berks is a power slot.

You can do a lot of different things if you're David blood. Now here is the rub. He's expected to get over 20 million dollars now.

But he's also going to have to beat out the Indianapolis Colts and pretty much any team in the NFL that could use another receiver, which in a passing league is pretty much every other team in the National Football League.

Now they don't all have the cap space to do it, but I'm looking at the New England Patriots. New England Patriots have been rumored to be wanting to trade for AJ Brown.

And they've been pretty going pretty hard apparently for that. If they don't get AJ Brown look they made runs at Chris Godwin last year.

They made a run out a lot of people last year. They were least upon digs. So they feel like they're going to go get themselves a blue chip receiver.

I think the Patriots are about to go hard after Alec Pierce and I don't expect Adam Peters like a little bit of a bidding war maybe.

But the kind of bidding war that the Patriots might be willing to go out there and battle through.

I don't know that Adam Peters is going to do that. So in this free agency primer we're going to have some backup plans and we're probably going to go with one of those backup plans.

Those plans coming up next on today's episode of locked on commanders part of the locked on podcast network your team every day.

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If the Washington commanders just get out bid for a guy like Alec Pierce I didn't have to have the phone call they'd rather Peter's you got to call Alec Pierce's agent you got to see what's what you got to see what the market looks like but ultimately I think there is a very good chance that the wash commanders get priced out of the Alec Pierce market.

The good news is there are several secondary options for the Washington commanders to consider because again remember you've got Terry McLaren how much of a of a reliance are you looking on this guy.

We think that the watchman is going to look to get the tide and heavily more heavily involved they want to rush think they want to hit the ground game hard do all these things.

So that second receiver doesn't need to be an Alec Pierce doesn't need to be another Terry McLaren so there are some really good options out here.

Darnell Mooney is one of my favorites to be honest with Darnell Mooney I've been a fan of Darnell since he was with the Chicago Bears ended up going to Atlanta Falcons and for agency a couple years ago recently was released by Atlanta.

He's an affordable deep right he is 29 so he's not going to be like you know the next 10 years you know receiver but he can become he can be brought in on a one year prove it deal has a versatility to play inside it out which you know David Blow is going to love you can really move him around the field as much as you want to so Darnell Mooney.

His potentially one of those guys Rashid Shaheed as someone that we've talked about as well in the program great special teams potential but also that receiver potential that ability to play that extra receiver extra C receiver opposite the X and stretch the field pending for aging who brings four three speed.

If the team does not retain Debo Samuel which we do not expect him to be retained he's kind of a Swiss Army knife type of guy as well can do a little bit of gadgets stuff but can really stretch the field in a way that Debo Samuel never could on a consistent basis and there's also Khalif Raymond I think there's someone that people need to keep an eye on he's had a history with David Blow from their time in Detroit offers a high floor low cost certainly could fill one of those vacant tags and now if it's you know there's a couple options here.

I don't think that's what he takes receiver off the draft board, necessarily, but it gives you a really good base and of course there is of course the brand and I you situation that's about to come up once the San Francisco 49ers release him looking at the under center impact here David Blow obviously once J and Daniels under center more this is going to create more play action opportunities under center play actions where deep threats like Alec Pierce Rashid Shaheed Jalen Naylor as someone that we've talked about former Minnesota Viking things like that those guys really thrive often.

There's a lot of that play action when teams bite and that gives them the opportunity to get past people so I think it's going to fit really well with a lot of people you can really take apply a player who maybe doesn't have the greatest reputation McGregor is established you know reputation in the NFL and really get more out of them now Pierce again he's established right but he's also publicly stated that he wants to get he wants to move from being an 80 target guide to be a true wide receiver one.

We heard David Blow already this all season tell WSA 9 he wants to get Terry McCorn 10 10 targets a game.

If you're trying to get Terry McCorn 10 targets game I don't know how you're going to Alec Pierce 80 a game and established a run game the way he's I was talking about so again Alec Pierce just does not feel like it's really going to fit what the watchman is trying to do but again.

Brandy Duke Rashid Shaheed I would like a combination of even trailing Berks back like I would not hate Terry trailing Luke Jalen and then bring in Brandon I you can maybe go get Jalen nail or Darnell Mooney Rashid Shaheed one of these other guys as your sixth receiver and essentially.

It basically got your receiver set already or your receiver group already set the rest of these guys that are on futures contracts are pretty much practice squad bound and that you know it's rough for them.

The same time I just enjoy the ride learn from these guys around you see what you're going to do so that's what I think is about to happen so some of these moves that I'm predicting are things that I would do some of them are what I just things going to happen.

I think what's about to happen is that the teams are going to go after someone like Rashid Shaheed Jalen nail or Darnell Mooney again you have to keep an eye on Khalifa and then.

I think you're also going to bring in Brandon I you can when the time comes and so you know we're not going to add Brandon I you officially to our depth chart because he's still under contract for nine hours as a right now.

Just kind of letting you know the future what I think is probably going to happen i'm going to pencil Jalen nailer into my depth chart here out of this group you know you you basically pick any of these guys I just think one of these guys coming in i'm going to pick Jalen nailer.

If Doron say Jones has been in that building telling everybody on the wash commander staff how much Jalen nailer was a problem for his defense cover practices i think there's a very real possibility that Jalen nailer ends up a Washington coming there i'm going to do it for today's up so next time on locked on commanders were in continue our free agency primer position group previews talking about where they are who they are what they need who that could be coming up in free agency all leading up to Monday noon eastern time is when all the madness gets started so stick here with locked on commander subscribe and.

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